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AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  IN  RALEIGH,  N.  C.,  ON  MEMORIAL  DAY 
(MAY  10),  1895. 


CONTAINING  A MEMOIR  OF  THE  LATE 

Major-General  WILLIAM  HENRY  CHASE  WHITING, 

OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


(AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  LADIES’  MEMORIAL  ASSOCIATION.) 


By  C.  B.  DENSON, 

(Of  the  Engineer  Service  of  the  Confederate  States  Army.) 


RALEIGH  : 

Edwards  & Broughton,  Printers  and  Binders. 
1895. 


RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 
TO  THE 

SURVIVING  PARTNER  OF  THE  JOYS  AND  SORROWS 
OF  THE 

MATCHLESS  GENIUS,  THE  HEROIC  SOLDIER, 


AND  THE  UNSELFISH  PATRIOT 
TO  WHOSE  MEMORY  THESE  PAGES  ARE 
DEVOTED. 


b/ 6 132-el 


AN  ADDRESS. 


Ladies  of  the  Memorial  Association , Comrades  of  the  Con - 
federate  States  Army)  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

The  poet  has  said  in  touching  numbers — 

“ Fold  up  the  tattered,  blood-stained  cross, 

By  bleeding  martyrs  blest, 

And  heap  the  laurels  it  has  won, 

Above  its  place  of  rest. 

It  lived  with  Fee,  and  decked  his  brow 
From  Fate’s  empyreal  Palm; 

It  sleeps  the  sleep  of  Jackson  now — 

As  spotless  and  as  calm. 

Sleep,  shrouded  ensign!  not  the  breeze 
That  smote  the  victor  tar 

With  death  across  the  heaving  seas 
Of  fiery  Trafalgar, 

Can  bid  thee  pale!  Proud  emblem,  still 
Thy  crimson  glory  shines! 

******* 

Sleep  in  thine  own  historic  night! 

And  be  thy  blazoned  scroll, 

A warrior’s  banner  takes  its  flight 
To  greet  a warrior’s  soul!  ” 

Character  is  the  foundation  of  human  greatness.  In  its 
perfection,  it  represents,  in  the  individual,  the  sum  of  the 
activities  of  life;  in  a national  sense,  it  is  the  development 
in  history  of  the  ruling  spirit  of  a people,  leading  to  the 
flower  of  achievement — to  the  utmost  limit  of  moral,  physi- 
cal and  intellectual  effort,  in  the  discharge  of  duty. 

The  element  of  character  most  God-like,  is  self-sacrifice. 

According  to  this  standard,  we  are  here  to-day,  thirty 
years  after  the  deep-mouthed  cannon  have  hushed  their 
voices,  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  most  peerless  heroes  in 
the  annals  of  the  world 


4 


He  who  imagines  that  the  statesmen  of  the  South,  above 
all  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  rushed  into  the  tremen- 
dous conflict  of  the  Civil  War  in  thoughtless  pride,  or  mad 
determination  to  preserve  a single  species  of  property, 
knows  nothing  of  the  true  spirit  that  filled  the  hearts  of 
the  best  of  the  land. 

The  Union  had  been  the  beloved  object  of  Southern 
patriotism.  Alamance  and  Mecklenburg  sounded  to  arms 
for  the  revolutionary  struggle,  Patrick  Henry’s  eloquence 
fired  the  torch  of  liberty,  Washington  led  her  hosts,  Madi- 
son drafted  the  Constitution,  Marshall  interpreted  the 
laws — Southren  men  all.  King’s  Mountain  and  Guilford 
were  the  precursors  of  the  inevitable  close  of  the  drama 
of  the  revolution  at  Yorktown.  For  seventy  years  and 
more  Southern  genius  dominated  the  country  and  led  it, 
step  by  step,  to  the  pinnacle  of  fame.  Jefferson  and  Jackson 
were  the  great  Executives  of  the  first  half  of  the  century. 
The  second  War  of  Independence,  in  1812,  was  maintained 
chiefly  by  Southern  valor.  Scott  and  Taylor,  as  well  as 
Lee  and  Davis,  in  the  Mexican  war,  were  men  of  the 
South.  Fought  by  an  overwhelming  majority  of  Southern 
men,  that  war,  with  the  purchases  previous  thereto  and 
succeeding,  by  Southern  statesmanship,  had  doubled  the 
area  ruled  by  the  Federal  government,  against  the  repeated 
protest  of  the  North.  The  South  had  given  to  the  general 
government,  of  her  own  accord,  the  princely  territory  of 
the  States  between  the  Tennessee  and  the  Great  Lakes. 
There  was  never  a conflict  in  behalf  of  the  Union  and  the 
Constitution  of  these  United  States,  in  which  the  men  of 
the  South  did  not  far  outnumber  those  of  any  other  sec- 
tion, and  give  their  precious  lives  in  due  proportion. 

The  world  will  never  know  how  much  it  cost  the  South; 
how  stupendous  was  the  price  that  North  Carolina  paid  to 
defend  the  Constitutional  rights  of  the  States.  Was  there 
no  sorrow  in  contemplating  the  destruction  of  the  fabric 


5 


reared  by  the  efforts  of  Southern  statesmanship  and 
cemented  with  the  blood  of  her  children  ? 

Who,  to-day,  would  have  had  this  old  Commonwealth 
trample  upon  her  traditions — even  from  the  earliest  colonial 
days,  “of  the  freest  of  the  free,”  in  Bancroft’s  words — 
and  tamely  submit  to  military  usurpation  from  Washing- 
ton to  send  her  sons  into  the  field,  against  every  dictate  of 
conscience  and  settled  conviction  of  the  sovereign  rights 
of  the  States;  to  send  her  sons,  I say,  against  their  breth- 
ren of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina — bone  of  their  bone, 
and  flesh  of  their  flesh,  not  only  in  the  claims  of  blood, 
but  in  history  and  sentiment? 

Never  have  the  annals  of  history  known  a line  of  states- 
men like  those  who  guided  the  fortunes  of  this  country  for 
three-quarters  of  a century  or  more!  Think  of  the  purity 
of  character  of  Nathaniel  Macon,  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  of 
William  A.  Graham,  of  Jefferson  Davis!  Who  knew  more 
of  the  Constitutional  authority  of  the  State  to  order  her 
citizens  to  stand  in  her  defence  than  such  statesmen  ? 

My  comrades,  when  men  stand  above  the  graves  of  our 
sacred  dead  and  drop  a flower  there  to  honor  them,  because 
they  died  for  what  they  thought  was  right,  and  bend  their 
heads  before  your  gray  hairs,  in  token  that  your  suffering 
for  long  years  touches  them,  because  you  thought  you  were 
right — there  is  a vain  and  empty  echo  to  such  words,  kindly 
meant  as  they  may  be. 

For  one,  I am  here  to  affirm,  before  high  Heaven,  that 
they  were  rights  and  that  North  Carolina  would  have  been 
recreant  to  every  principle  of  honor  and  duty  had  she  done 
otherwise.  When  I see  the  saintly  Bishop-General,  who 
was  born  on  your  own  soil,  leaving  the  pulpit  under  the 
imperative  sense  of  overwhelming  duty  and  sharing  the 
dangers  of  the  field;  at  one  moment  stretching  forth  his 
arms  in  blessing  upon  the  stricken  people,  and  the  next 
moment  torn  apart  by  an  enemy’s  shot,  I feel,  with  the  poet — 


6 


“A  flash  from  the  edge  of  a hostile  trench, 

A puff  of  smoke,  a roar, 

Whose  echo  shall  roll  from  Kennesaw  hills 
To  the  furthermost  Christian  shore, 

Proclaim  to  the  world  that  the  warrior  priest 
Will  battle  for  right  no  more; 

And  that  for  a cause  which  is  sanctified, 

By  the  blood  of  martys  unknown, 

****** 

He  kneels,  a meek  ambassador, 

At  the  foot  of  the  Father’s  throne.” 

When  I think  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  wounded  unto 
death,  yet  wrestling  in  prayer  with  his  God,  as  he  was 
wont  to  do,  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  before  some 
bloody  enterprise  of  the  next  day,  like  the  stern  Covenanters 
of  old,  and  then  committing  his  cause  and  his  fellow-sol- 
diers to  a Heavenly  care,  u to  rest  under  the  trees”  this 
day,  thirty-two  years  ago — the  question  recurs,  “Was  he 
not  in  the  right?  ” 

When  I picture  the  matchless  dignity  of  Robert  E.  Lee, 
looking  from  his  charger  in  grave  serenity  upon  a field 
tumultuous  with  every  form  of  effort  of  horse  and  man, 
and  incarnadined  with  human  gore;  or  recall  him,  as  it  was 
my  fortune  to  see  him,  in  the  peace  and  quiet  of  his  head- 
quarters, and  mark  the  signs  on  his  countenance,  of  the 
God-given  intellect,  and  regal  dignity  of  spirit,  that  after- 
wards refused  fortune  and  honor  abroad  to  share  poverty 
and  labor  with  his  own  at  home,  I am  forced  to  declare — 
if  such  immortal  spirits  were  wrong,  then  let  me  be  wrong 
with  them  ! 

In  a memorial  address  twenty-six  years  ago,  the  brave  and 
lamented  Col.  Robert  H.  Cowan  used  this  language,  when 
our  people  were  sitting  amid  the  thickest  gloom  of  their 
great  calamity,  and  patriotic  Wilmington  was  erecting  a 
memorial  to  our  dead.  He  declared: 


7 


“In  the  Pass  of  classic  Thermopylae,  there  is  a monumental  pillar 
reared  by  the  decree  of  the  Amphictyonic  Council,  to  the  memory  of 
Leonidas  and  his  devoted  three  hundred.  It  bearg  an  inscription,  writ- 
ten by  the  poet  of  the  time,  in  a style  of  true  Lacedemonian  simplicity, 
and  yet  it  is  so  tender  and  touching  in  its  tone,  and  so  lofty  in  its  sen- 
timent, that  it  appears  to  me  to  be  sublime  : 

-C  I'rv 

“ ‘ Oh  stranger  ! tell  it  to  the  Lacedpnians. 

That  we  lie  here  in  obedience  to  their  laws.’ 

“ Let  the  stranger,  whoever  he  may  be,  that  visits  this  sacred  spot,  go 
and  proclaim  it  to  all  the  world  that  these  brave  men  lie  here  in  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  North  Carolina.” 


The  tongue  that  spoke  these  words  has  long  been  silent 
in  the  grave,  but  they  are  forever  true.  The  mother  State, 
conservative  in  all  her  history,  pondered  her  steps  long  and 
well.  What  she  ordered  was  done  in  the  plain  path  of 
duty,  when  all  other  resource  had  departed.  But  that  duty 
once  ascertained,  was  performed  with  a tenacious  determi- 
nation almost  without  a parallel. 

In  this  transitory  life,  the  most  precious  things  are  the 
spiritual  forces — the  invisible,  but  immortal,  powers  that 
mold  men’s  lives. 

Look  about  you,  in  your  beautiful  Capital  City,  putting 
on  anew  the  garniture  of  spring.  Consider  the  swift  pass- 
ing away  of  the  material  objects  about  us.  A century  or 
two,  and  where  are  the  most  pretentious  of  our  structures? 
Where  are  our  marts,  and  factories,  and  temples  ? Forms, 
fashions,  institutions  change — the  rich  and  the  poor  ex- 
change places — animated  nature  bows  to  decay  and  passes 
in  turn  to  oblivion! 

But  the  ashes  of  the  noble  dead  remain  in  mother  earth 
and  the  memory  of  their  deeds  hallows  the  soil.  Think  you 
that  the  valor  of  George  B.  Anderson  is  lost,  the  gallantry 
of  L.  O’B.  Branch,  the  calm  and  intrepid  patriotism  of  the 
host  of  lesser  rank  that  lie  beside  them  in  either  of  our 
cities  of  the  dead — Burgwyn,  and  Turner,  and  Shotwell; 
the  Hay  woods,  Manlys,  Rogers,  Engelhard;  the  knightly 


8 


Smedes,  the  great-hearted  Wm.  E.  Anderson — ah!  where 
shall  I pause  in  the  bead-roll  of  heroes;  how  dare  we  not 
include  every  private,  who  bore  his  musket  well,  in  that 
great  brigade  that  lie  in  eternal  bivouac  on  our  eastern 
slopes,  awaiting  the  trump  of  the  resurrection  morn  ? 

Tried  by  the  standard  of  devotion  to  duty,  and  sublime 
self-sacrifice,  the  men  whom  your  fair  women  delight  to 
honor  were  worthy  of  the  highest  niche  in  the  temple  of 
military  fame — the  brightest  crown,  as  patriot  martyrs. 

They  lie  on  every  battle-field  of  importance  throughout 
the  South.  At  Winchester,  where  the  sacred  ashes  have 
been  gathered  from  many  bloody  contests,  they  exceed  in 
melancholy  array  those  of  any  other  State. 

At  Fredericksburg,  the  dead  and  wounded  of  North 
Carolina  exceeded  those  of  all  other  States  of  the  South 
combined. 

In  the  Seven  Days’  struggle  around  Richmond,  one-half 
of  the  number  of  regiments  in  Lee’s  entire  army  were  sons 
of  your  soil. 

Would  you  seek  the  most  magnificent  spectacle  of  undy- 
ing courage?  Behold  the  Fifth  North  Carolina  at  Wil- 
liamsburg; see  it  in  the  Fourth  North  Carolina  at  Seven 
Pines;  find  it  in  the  Third  at  Sharpsburg;  watch  it  in  the 
Eighteenth  at  Spottsylvania;  behold  it  in  the  Twentieth  at 
Frazer’s  Farm;  see  it  in  the  Twenty-sixth  at  Gettysburg, 
whose  loss  was  the  greatest  recorded  in  history;  glory  in  it 
in  the  Thirty-sixth  North  Carolina,  as  it  envelopes  Fort 
Fisher,  and  the  heroic  Whiting,  with  a halo  of  imperishable 
fame. 

Yet  how  shall  we  separate  a gallant  few  from  all  the 
brave  sons  of  Carolina,  in  all  her  serried  battalions?  And 
how  shall  a single  day’s  exhibition  of  God-like  self-sur- 
render and  indomitable  daring  represent  to  us  the  daily 
struggle  on  the  picket-line,  the  weary  march,  the  long 
night  watch,  the  agonizing  wound,  the  dreary  imprison- 


9 


ment,  the  slow  starvation,  the  unceasing  anxiety  for  dis- 
tant wife  and  child,  the  sorrow  for  a broken  and  desolated 
country,  the  unspeakable  pain  of  final  defeat. 

Alas!  for  the  unknown  graves  that  hide  the  broken  hearts 
of  our  comrades,  worn  by  disease,  whom  we  left  behind  at 
every  camp,  in  the  sand-hills  by  the  sea,  or  dotting  the 
grassy  glades  of  mountain  valleys. 

Yet  the  very  boys  emblazoned  immortal  deeds  upon  the 
escutcheon  of  their  State. 

At  Chancellorsville,  the  death  wound  came  to  a lad  of 
barely  seventeen.  His  musket  dropped;  with  Spartan  for- 
titude he  raised  his  hand  to  the  gushing  wound,  and  fal- 
tered forth  to  his  commander,  “Major,  lam  killed;  tell 
my  father  that  my  feet  were  to  the  enemy!  ” So  fell  Wil- 
son Kerr,  of  North  Carolina. 

At  Petersburg,  in  the  suburb  of  Pocahontas,  lies  the 
last  man  of  the  retreating  army  of  L,ee.  The  enemy  were 
rapidly  closing  on  the  rear  guard,  and  he  volunteered  to 
fire  the  bridge  in  the  face  of  certain  death.  He  reached 
its  middle,  applied  the  match,  and  then,  though  torn  by  a 
grape-shot,  that  boy  of  sixteen  walked  back  to  the  bank 
and  yielded  his  precious  life. 

The  enemy,  in  admiration  of  his  valor,  gave  him  a sol- 
dier’s burial  on  the  very  spot — wrapped  in  his  old  gray 
blanket  that  was  slung  about  his  shoulders,  and  the  only 
shroud  over  his  fair  features  from  the  enveloping  clay  was 
the  apron  of  a solitary  woman,  brave  enough  to  venture 
there  to  weep  over  him. 

So  died  Cummings  Mebane,  of  North  Carolina. 

“ His  country  was  the  lady  of  his  dreams, 

Her  cross  his  knightly  sign — 

He  died!  And  there  he  lies, 

A stately,  slender  palm, 

Felled  down,  in  tender  blossoming, 

Across  her  grave!  ” 


10 


Young  men  of  North  Carolina,  you  who  are  her  hope 
and  pride,  and  who  will  be  her  strong  staff,  when  we  shall 
have  become  but  a memory,  see  to  it,  I beseech  you,  that 
such  sublime  virtue,  which  accepts  certain  death  for  the 
safety  of  the  whole,  and  the  good  of  the  State,  be  com- 
memorated in  yonder  capitol  in  glowing  canvass  or  endur- 
ing marble. 

Happy  will  be  that  people,  who,  in  honoring  virtue  and 
commemorating  sublimity  of  human  character,  stamp  the 
image  of  the  ancestor  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
children! 

All  honor  to  the  noble  women  of  the  Memorial  Associa- 
tion of  Raleigh,  that  they  have  taught  their  lesson,  year 
by  year,  not  only  in  the  silent  but  eloquent  eulogy  of  flow- 
ers; not  only  in  recalling  to  mind  the  heroic  self-sacrifice 
of  the  hosts  in  gray,  in  their  voiceless  camps  of  death ; but 
also  have  decreed  that  heroes  who  have  served  their  coun- 
try in  conspicuous  station,  shall  be  honored  by  the  recital 
of  their  services,  and  a record  shall  be  forever  kept  in  grate- 
ful remembrance. 

It  is  the  privilege  of  the  speaker  to  recite  briefly  some 
of  the  many  leaves  of  history,  which  cluster  like  chaplets 
of  laurel  around  an  illustrious  soldier,  who  though  not 
born  upon  your  soil,  loved  with  his  whole  heart  your  peo- 
ple and  your  State,  and  gave  his  life  for  them. 

William  Henry  Chase  Whiting,  the  son  of  Levi  and 
Mary  A.  Whiting,  was  born  March  22,  1824,  at  Biloxi, 
Mississippi. 

His  father,  originally  from  Massachusetts,  spent  his  life 
as  an  officer  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  serving  forty  years,  from 
1812  to  1853,  being  at  his  death  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the 
First  Artillery. 

At  twelve  years  of  age  he  was  ready  for  the  Public  High 
School  of  Boston,  where  he  remained  two  years,  taking  the 
highest  stand,  particularly  in  Latin  and  Greek.  Gifted 


11 


with  extraordinary  quickness  of  perception,  unyielding 
tenacity  and  fidelity  of  memory,  and  great  will-power,  the 
combination  gave  evidence  of  the  rarest  mental  power. 
He  saw  at  a glance,  yet  comprehended  to  the  utmost  depth. 
At  fourteen,  he  entered  Georgetown  College,  D.  C.,  and 
completed  with  ease  the  four  years’  course  in  two  years, 
besides  receiving  his  diploma  with  high  distinction  at  the 
head  of  his  class.  It  was  said  of  his  knowledge  of  Latin, 
that  he  could  converse  in  it  with  fluency. 

Yet  an  entirely  different  class  of  studies  awaited  him 
at  West  Point,  where  he  entered  the  U.  S.  Military 
Academy,  at  seventeen.  Always  at  the  top,  he  took  at 
once  a high  stand,  maintained  it  throughout  the  course, 
and  graduated  after  four  years,  July  i,  1845,  at  the  head  of 
the  class  of  forty  members,  and  with  a higher  stand  than 
any  officer  of  the  army  had  ever  taken  up  to  that  period. 

Cadet  Whiting  is  described  briefly,  but  vividly,  a letter 
from  his  room-mate,  Gen.  Fitz  John  Porter,  to  the  speaker: 

“ 1 19  West  47TH  Street,  New  York., 
“April  23,  1895. 

“ Capt.  C.  B.  Denson. 

“My  Dear  Sir  : * * * I deeply  regret  that  it  is  not  in  my  power 
to  furnish  you  information  which  would  aid  you  in  writing  a memoir  of 
my  old  friend,  Gen.  W.  H.  C.  Whiting.  It  would  be  a great  pleasure  to 
me  to  do  it  if  I could.  Though  he  and  I were  classmates  and  room- 
mates at  West  Point,  and  necessarily  very  intimate,  after  graduating 
we  met  but  a very  few  times,  and  then  only  for  a few  hours.  * * * 

Our  spheres  of  duty  widely  separated  us,  and  we  knew  of  each  other 
only  through  an  occasional  letter.  * * * * As  a cadet,  Whiting’s 

career  was  most  exemplary.  Pure  in  all  his  acts;  of  the  strictest  integ- 
rity, ever  kind  and  gentle  and  open-hearted  to  his  comrades  ; free  from 
deception  ; just  in  his  duty  to  his  service  and  Academy,  and  never  but 
kind  and  just  to  his  comrades,  and  the  cadets  under  him.  These  quali- 
ties caused  him  to  be  loved  by  his  companions  and  respected  by  his 
subordinates,  and  honored  and  trusted  by  his  superiors. 

“He  was  of  first-rate  ability,  as  shown  in  his  studies  and  graduation 
at  the  head  of  his  class.  So  long  as  he  was  in  the  army,  he  maintained 
that  reputation,  and  there  was  great  regret  that  he  resigned  to  take  to  a 
different  cause  and  field. 

“ Wishing  you  success  in  your  efforts,  I am, 

“Yours  truly, 


F.  J.  Porter.” 


12 


It  was  no  small  honor  to  be  first  in  a class  that  held 
Gen.  Charles  P.  Stone  (the  organizer  of  the  army  of  Egypt, 
after  the  Civil  War),  Gen.  Fitz  John  Porter,  Gen.  Gordon 
Grainger,  Gens.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  Barnard  E.  Bee,  and  the 
like.  It  has  been  generally  conceded  that  no  class  con- 
tained so  many  men  that  afterwards  rose  to  distinction  in 
the  great  War. 

Upon  graduating,  his  position  entitled  him  to  the  honor 
of  an  appointment  to  the  Engineer  Corps,  the  elite  of  the 
army.  He  served  as  Second  Lieutenant  until  his  promo- 
tion to  First  Lieutenant,  March  1 6,  1853,  and  Captain, 
December  13,  1858.  He  tendered  his  resignation  from  the 
United  States  service  February  20,  1861. 

Shortly  after  graduation,  he  was  ordered  to  the  danger- 
ous task  of  laying  out  a military  road  from  San  Antonio 
to  El  Paso.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Texas  had  just 
been  annexed,  and  the  country  swarmed  with  the  fierce 
Comanche  Indians.  This  was  accomplished  with  a small 
party,  although  with  many  hair-breadth  escapes  from  the 
rifle  and  scalping  knife. 

He  was  next  at  various  stations  on  the  Gulf  until  1852. 
While  temporarily  in  command  at  Pensacola,  he  won  high 
reputation  among  professional  engineers,  by  successfully 
closing  an  opening  made  by  the  waters  of  the  lagoon, 
breaking  through  to  the  Gulf,  thereby  endangering  the 
Fort  (Pickens)  by  undermining.  This  had  baffled  the 
efforts  of  several  engineers,  who  had  attempted  to  close  it, 
at  great  expense  to  the  government. 

Ordered  next  to  Fort  McHenry,  then  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  Robert  E.  Lee,  he  was  transferred  shortly 
after  to  Fort  Point,  California,  at  San  Francisco,  thence  to 
Wilmington,  N.  C. , and  from  that  point  to  Fort  Pulaski, 
Georgia,  and  Fort  Clinch,  Florida.  Upon  her  secession, 
Georgia  made  him  Major  of  Engineers,  and  on  March  29, 
he  received  the  same  rank  in  the  Confederate  Army. 


13 


Then  began  the  long  line  of  services,  in  many  capacities 
and  at  many  points  to  the  Southern  cause,  much  of  which 
was  devoted  to  North  Carolina,  and  the  closing  years  of 
his  career  wholly  so. 

Sent  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  inspect  the  works  being 
constructed  against  Fort  Sumter,  he  recognized  at  once 
the  faults  of  location  and  construction,  and  reported  the 
danger  to  President  Davis.  He  showed  the  letter  to  Beau- 
regard, and  ordered  him  to  take  charge.  Gen.  Beauregard 
recognizing  the  truth  of  the  situation,  proceeded  to  change 
the  entire  location,  and,  to  use  his  language: 

“ I determined  to  alter  the  system,  but  gradually,  so  as  not  to  dampen 
the  ardor  or  touch  the  pride  of  the  gallant  and  sensitive  gentlemen  who 
had  left  their  homes,  at  the  call  of  the  State,  to  vindicate  its  honor.” 

Gen.  Beauregard,  in  his  report  of  the  capture  of  Fort 
Sumter,  April  12,  1861,  said: 

“The  Engineers,  Majors  Whiting  and  Gywnn,  and  others,  on  whom 
too  much  praise  cannot  be  bestowed  for  their  untiring  zeal,  energy  and 
gallantry,  and  to  whose  labors  is  greatly  due  the  unprecedented  exam- 
ple of  taking  such  an  important  work,  after  thirty-three  hours’  firing, 
without  having  to  report  the  loss  of  a single  life,  and  but  four  slightly 
wounded. 

“From  Major  W.  H.  C.  Whiting  I derived  also  much  assistance,  not 
only  as  an  engineer,  in  selecting  the  sites  and  laying  out  the  channel 
batteries  on  Morris  Island,  but  as  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  and  In- 
spector General,  in  arranging  and  stationing  the  troops  on  said  Island.” 

Major  Whiting  was  made  Adjutant  General  and  brought 
his  great  abilities  into  service  on  Morris  Island,  to  prepare 
for  the  attack  upon  Sumter,  which  was  successful  April 
11,  1861. 

An  Englishman,  and  an  accomplished  critic  of  military 
men  and  measures,  speaks  in  exalted  terms  of  praise  of 
Major  Whiting’s  operations  there;  and  long  after,  General 
Gist  writes  of  his  ardent  desire  that  Whiting  should  return 
to  Charleston  in  complete  command. 


14 


Leaving  Charleston  now  for  the  field,  he  remains  in 
North  Carolina  long  enough  to  advise  as  to  the  defences  of 
the  Cape  Fear,  at  the  following  request  of  the  Governor, 
the  lamented  John  W.  Ellis,  who  fell  a victim  to  disease 
early  in  the  war.  He  writes: 


“Executive  Department, 
“Raeeigh,  N.  C.,  April  21,  1861. 

“Wm.  H.  Whiting. 

“Sir  : You  are  hereby  appointed  Inspector-General  in  charge  of  the 
defences  of  North  Carolina. 

“Your  attention  will  be  particularly  directed  to  Forts  Caswell  and 
Johnston,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  Beaufort  harbor  and 
Fort  Macon,  Ocracoke  and  the  coast  generally. 

“ Exercise  all  the  powers  necessary  to  the  public  defence  ; extinguish 
lights,  seize  vessels  belonging  to  the  enemy,  and  do  whatever  may  seem 
necessary. 

“ Given  under  my  hand,  JOHN  W.  ELU$. 

“ By  the  Governor  : 

“ Graham  Daves,  Private  Secretary .” 

Seeing  the  forts  in  North  Carolina  in  Confederate  hands, 
he  advised  a system  of  defence,  especially  of  the  important 
Cape  Fear  region — after  examining  the  condition  of  the 
forts  and  harbors;  but  there  being  no  reason  to  anticipate 
immediate  attack,  he  obeyed  a call  to  duty  in  Virginia, 
whither  he  repaired  to  report  for  service  to  Gen.  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  in  command  at  Harper’s  Ferry  of  the  Confed- 
erate forces  protecting  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

With  his  usual  activity,  he  grasped  the  situation  at  Har- 
per’s Ferry,  and  we  find  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  saying, 
in  his  “Narrative  of  the  War,”  page  17: 

“ A careful  examination  of  the  position  and  its  environs,  made  on  the 
25th  May,  with  the  assistance  of  an  engineer  of  great  ability,  Major 
Whiting,  convinced  me  that  it  could  not  be  held  against  equal  num- 
bers, etc.” 

In  correspondence,  years  afterwards,  Johnston  refers  to 
this  period  and  to  Whiting’s  judicious  aid  upon  his  staff 
with  the  highest  commendation. 


15 


Now  the  first  great  conflict  came  on  at  Bull  Run.  An- 
ticipating the  event,  Whiting  was  entrusted  with  the  charge 
of  arrangements  for  the  moving  of  the  army  at  Harper’s 
Ferry,  to  the  aid  of  Beauregard  at  Manassas,  and  had  the 
railroad  authorities  kept  their  repeated  pledges  to  him, 
reinforcements  would  have  reached  the  field  of  Manassas 
in  time  to  have  crushed  McDowell  earlier  in  the  day,  spared 
much  Confederate  blood,  and  possibly  cut  off  the  retreat  of 
the  United  States  forces  to  Washington.  Gen.  Whiting  had 
in  charge  the  blowing  up  of  Harper’s  Ferry,  which  General 
Johnston  pronounced  a “ masterly  piece  of  work.” 

Whiting  was  with  the  troops  whose  opportune  arrival  at 
Manassas  saved  the  day,  including  the  gallant  Sixth  North 
Carolina,  whose  Colonel  (Fisher)  gave  up  his  life  on  the 
field  of  battle.  His  name  is  immortalized  by  the  fortress 
where  North  Carolinians  withstood  the  greatest  bombard- 
ment that  the  world  has  ever  known. 

In  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston’s  official  report  of  the 
battle  of  Manassas,  he  mentions  Whiting  first,  of  all  his 
staff,  and  declares: 

“Major  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  Chief  Engineer,  was  invaluable  to  me  for 
his  signal  ability  in  his  profession,  and  for  his  indefatigable  activity 
before  and  in  the  battle.” 

For  his  brilliant  service  on  the  field,  President  Davis, 
who  was  on  the  ground,  wrote  the  following  order  (which 
I hold  in  my  hand),  entire  as  to  text  and  signatures 

“Manassas,  Va.,  July  21,  1861. 

“Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston, 

“ C.  S.  Army. 

“ ‘Sir  : Major  Sam.  Jones  and  Major  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  of  the  Army 
of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  are  assigned  to  duty  with  ‘ Vol- 
unteers,’ with  the  temporary  rank  of  Brigadier  Generals,  and  will  be 
obeyed  and  respected  accordingly.  Jefferson  Davis.’  ” 

The  permanent  commission  was  dated  by  the  Secretary 
of  War  August  28th,  to  rank  from  the  glorious  21st  July, 
the  day  of  Manassas. 


16 


He  was  ordered  at  first  to  the  command  of  Bee’s  brigade, 
their  General  having  been  killed  at  Manassas. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  after  that  collision,  both  sides 
began  to  realize  the  magnitude  of  the  impending  struggle, 
and  to  raise,  equip  and  discipline  their  armies  with  more 
military  order  and  detail.  And  in  the  South,  preparations 
for  better  defences,  than  the  batteries  hastily  thrown  up, 
were  going  forward. 

General  Whiting  gave  his  best  efforts,  as  a trained  sol- 
dier, to  the  equipment  and  training  of  the  troops,  while 
his  engineering  skill  was  freely  drawn  upon  for  the  public 
welfare. 

General  Whiting  was  assigned  the  command  of  the 
brigade  of  General  Bee,  killed  at  Manassas.  This  was 
composed  of  the  Sixth  North  Carolina,  Fourth  Alabama, 
Second  and  Eleventh  Mississippi.  Major  J.  S.  Fairly,  now 
Lieut.  Colonel  J.  S.  Fairly,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  who 
served  with  distinguished  ability  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Whit- 
ing, says,  in  a letter  to  the  speaker: 

“ With  Bee’s  and  the  Texas  Brigade,  under  Gen.  Wigfall,  the  division 
went  into  winter  quarters  near  Dumfries,  Va.,  and  built  heavy  batteries, 
commanding  the  Potomac  River,  sometimes  inflicting  loss  upon  the 
enemy  attempting  its  navigation;  but  his  great  work  and  constant  care 
during  the  whole  winter,  was,  first,  to  have  his  troops  make  themselves 
comfortable  winter  quarters  ; next,  to  organize  them  for  the  victories 
they  were  to  win,  by  thorough  drill — constant  drill — by  squad,  by  com- 
pany, by  regiment,  by  brigade,  by  division,  or,  as  the  troops  called  the 
last,  ‘ neighborhood  drill thus  accustoming  the  troops  to  act  in  con- 
cert, and  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  so  giving  them  confidence  in 
each  other  and  in  their  officers.  ‘Little  Billy,’ as  the  troops  endear- 
ingly called  him,  was  indefatigable. 

“ With  the  opening  spring,  our  retreat  from  Dumfries,  and  march  from 
Fredericksburg  began,  and  was  accomplished  without  loss,  although 
the  roads  were  indescribably  bad.  We  encamped  near  Fredericksburg 
and  thence  went  to  the  Peninsula  to  await  General  Johnston’s  further 
movements.” 

When  the  spring  opened,  Johnston  determined  to  evacu- 
ate Norfolk  and  Yorktown,  and  retire  upon  Richmond, 


17 


there  to  meet  the  enormous  army  gathering  under  General 
McClellan.  The  evacuation  was  skilfully  performed,  and 
the  enemy  checked  in  direct  pursuit  at  Williamsburg, 
largely  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Fifth  North  Carolina,  under 
McRae,  whose  losses  were  so  frightful  and  bravery  so  heroic 
as  to  win  for  it  the  sobriquet  of  the  “ Bloody  Fifth.” 

It  was  next  found  that  the  enemy  had  landed  in  force  at 
West  Point,  and  had  occupied  a thick  woods  between  the 
New  Kent  road  and  Elthain’s  Landing,  threatening  the  col- 
umn on  the  march,  with  a fatal  attack  upon  its  flank. 
General  Johnston  reports: 

“ The  security  of  our  march  required  that  he  should  be  dislodged,  and 
Gen.  G.  W.  Smith  was  entrusted  with  this  service.  He  performed  it 
very  handsomely,  with  Hampton’s  and  Hood’s  Brigades,  under  Whiting, 
who  drove  the  enemy,  in  about  two  hours,  a mile  and  a half  through 
the  woods  to  the  protection  of  their  vessels  of  war.  If  the  statements 
published  in  the  Northern  papers  at  the  time  are  accurate,  their  losses 
were  ten  times  as  great  as  ours.” 

So  much  for  prompt  and  timely  action  at  a critical  mo- 
ment. The  whole  of  Franklin’s  superb  division  was 
routed  by  Whiting’s  two  small  brigades. 

This  repulse  occurred  May  6th,  and  inspired  the  troops 
anew  with  devoted  confidence  in  their  indomitable  leader. 

In  token  of  this  General  Whiting  was  surprised  at  the 
reception  of  a letter  from  the  officers  of  the  Fourth  Ala- 
bama, of  his  brigade,  tendering  to  him  a present  of  a noble 
charger,  which  on  May  22d  was  formally  presented  at 
dress-parade,  “ as  an  evidence  of  high  esteem  and  appre- 
ciation of  you  as  a soldier  and  a gentleman,  by  the  regi- 
ment.” 

On  the  last  day  of  the  same  month,  occurred  the  famous 
engagement  of  the  Seven  Pines.  It  will  be  remembered 
by  veterans  that  this  bloody  conflict  has  gone  into  history 
as  a drawn  battle.  The  victory  of  Seven  Pines  for  the 
Confederates  being  followed  by  inaction  at  Fair  Oaks  the 
2 


18 


next  day,  and  the  result  a check,  but  not  an  overwhelming 
defeat  for  the  U.  S.  troops,  as  it  might  have  been. 

The  testimony  of  the  “Records  of  the  Rebellion,”  in 
which  is  all  the  evidence  of  reports  of  Commanders  through- 
out the  field,  shows  unmistakably  that  the  same  sluggish- 
ness and  want  of  response  to  orders,  which  lost  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  by  the  failure  of  Longstreet  to  move  in 
time  to  the  support  of  Pickett  and  Pettigrew,  was  at  fault 
there. 

Gen.  G.  W.  Smith  shows  (Battles  and  Leaders  of  the 
Civil  War,  Vol.  II.,  241)  that  Whiting’s  division,  advancing 
at  6 A.  M.,  was  blocked  by  Longstreet’s  troops,  and  in  spite 
of  herculean  efforts,  message  after  message  having  gone 
forward,  was  not  permitted  to  advance  until  4 p.  m.  He 
had  been  finally  held  in  reserve  by  General  Johnston,  in 
case  Longstreet  was  in  danger  of  being  overpowered,  and 
who  now  was  supposed  to  be  overwhelmingly  engaged. 
But,  alas,  the  truth  of  history  is,  that  eight  brigades  of 
Longstreet’ s thirteen,  had  not  even  been  engaged. 

Col.  B.  W.  Frobel,  of  the  Engineers,  was  on  Whiting’s 
staff,  and  he  writes  (in  1868)  of  one  of  the  rare  mistakes 
made  by  that  great  soldier,  Joseph  E.  Johhston,  as  follows: 

“ ‘ Generals  Johnston  and  Whiting  were  following  immediately  after 
Whiting’s  Brigade.  As  the  brigade  reached  the  road,  near  the  railroad 
crossing,  I was  sent  to  halt  it.  On  returning,  after  doing  this,  I joined 
the  Generals,  who  were  riding  toward  the  crossing.  Gen.  Whiting  was 
expostulating  with  Gen.  Johnston  about  taking  the  division  across  the 
railroad — insisting  that  the  enemy  were  then  in  force  on  our  left  flank 
and  rear.  Gen.  Johnston  replied  : ‘ Oh,  General  Whiting,  you  are  too 
cautious.’  At  this  time  we  reached  the  crossing,  and  nearly  at  the  same 
moment  the  enemy  opened  an  artillery  fire  from  the  direction  pointed 
out  by  General  Whiting.  We  moved  back  up  the  road  near  the  small 
white  house;  Whiting’s  Brigade  was  gone.  It  had  been  ordered  forward 
to  charge  the  batteries  which  were  firing  on  us.’ 

“ The  brigade  was  repulsed,  and  in  a few  minutes  came  streaming  back 
through  the  skirt  of  woods  to  the  left  of  the  Nine-Mile  road  near  the 
crossing.  There  was  only  a part  of  the  brigade  in  this  charge.  Pender 
(commanding  a regiment)  soon  rallied  and  reformed  those  on  the  edge 


19 


of  the  woods.  Gen.  Whiting  sent  an  order  to  him  (Pender)  to  recon- 
noitre the  batteries,  and  if  he  thought  they  could  be  taken,  to  try  it 
again.  Before  he  could  do  so,  someone  galloped  up,  shouting,  ‘Charge 
that  battery  ! ’ The  men  moved  forward  at  double-quick,  but  were  re- 
pulsed, as  before,  and  driven  back  to  the  woods.’ 

“ Gen.  Whiting  immediately  arranged  for  a combined  attack  by  the 
brigades  of  Whiting,  Pettigrew  and  Hampton. 

“Alas,  for  the  mistake  in  not  reconoitreing  the  position  first,  before 
crossing  the  railroad,  as  Gen.  Whiting  had  suggested,  and  then  attack- 
ing before  Gen.  Sumner’s  Corps  could  reinforce  Couch,  who  was  holding 
the  Federal  line.  For  by  the  time  the  three  brigades  could  be  brought 
into  action,  many,  with  little  or  no  ammunition  left,  unknown  to  the 
Confederates  in  the  thick  woods,  Gen.  Sedgwick’s  leading  division,  of 
Sumner’s  Corps,  with  Kirby’s  Napoleon  guns,  had  arrived,  and  a new 
and  immensely  superior  enemy  was  encountered  by  the  devoted  band  in 
the  assault.  Sedgwick  says,  on  arriving,  ‘ We  found  Abercrombie’s 
Brigade,  of  Couch’s  Division,  sustaining  a severe  attack  and  hard 
pushed  by  the  enemy.’  ” 

Again  and  again  the  Confederates  attacked,  but  to  meet 
bloody  repulse.  General  Smith  says: 

[Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War,  Vol.  ii,  p.  247].  “ Believing  that 
Whiting  had,  on  the  right,  as  much  as  he  could  well  attend  to,  I went 
with  Hatton’s  Brigade  to  the  extreme  front  line  of  Hampton  and  Petti- 
grew in  the  woods,  and  soon  learned  that  General  Pettigrew  had  been 
wounded,  it  was  supposed  mortally,  and  was  a prisoner.  Gen.  Hatton 
was  killed  at  my  side  just  as  his  brigade  reached  the  front  line  of  battle, 
and  in  a very  few  minutes  Gen.  Hampton  was  severely  wounded.  In 
this  state  of  affairs,  I sent  word  to  General  Whiting  that  I would  take 
executive  control  in  that  wood,  which  would  relieve  him  for  the  time  of 
care  for  the  left  of  the  division,  and  enable  him  to  give  his  undivided 
attention  to  the  right. 

“In  the  wood,  the  opposing  lines  were  close  to  each  other,  in  some 
places  not  more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  yards  apart.  The  firing  ceased 
at  dark,  when  I ordered  the  line  to  fall  back  to  the  edge  of  the  field  and 
re-form.  In  the  meantime  Whiting’s  Brigade  and  the  right  of  Pettigrew’s 
had  been  forced  back  to  the  clump  of  trees  just  north  of  Fair  Oaks  sta- 
tion, where  the  contest  was  kept  up  until  night.” 

Longstreet  says,  in  writing  on  June  7th: 

“The  failure  of  complete  success  on  Saturday,  I attribute  to  the  slow 
movements  of  Gen.  Huger’s  command.  * * * I can’t  but  help  think 

that  a display  of  his  forces  on  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy  would  have 
completed  the  affair,  and  given  Whiting  as  easy  and  pretty  a game  as 
was  ever  had  upon  a battle  field.” 


20 


In  the  cold  calm  light  of  facts  now  developed,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  see  that  the  slowness  was  on  the  part  of  the 
writer  of  that  report,  who  should,  by  Johnston’s  orders, 
have  moved  at  daybreak  on  the  31st,  and  who  failed  to 
move  at  all,  as  ordered  by  General  Smith,  on  the  morning 
of  June  1st. 

Although  not  permitted  to  gather  the  fruits  of  their 
unyielding  courage,  Smith’s  division  under  Whiting  pre- 
vented Sumner’s  forces  from  reaching  Keyes’  at  Seven 
Pines  (a  matter  of  supreme  importance),  and  deprived 
Keyes  and  Heintzelman  of  two  brigades  and  a battery  of 
their  own  troops. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  during  the  events  narrated, 
Gen.  J.  J.  Pettigrew  was  wounded  very  seriously.  I can- 
not forbear,  in  this  presence  where  so  many  dear  friends  of 
General  Pettigrew  remain,  to  record  for  future  history  an 
unpublished  letter  from  Pettigrew  to  Whiting,  fraught  with 
the  pure  patriotism  and  exquisite  self-sacrifice  characteristic 
of  both  heroes,  who  sleep  in  death  together  for  the  cause 
they  served. 

I hardly  need  remind  you,  that  this  (like  his  report)  was 
written  by  an  amanuensis,  and  exhibits  in  its  feeble  signa- 
ture the  exhaustion  of  one  wounded  almost  unto  death. 

“June  4,  1862, 

“ East  Chickahominy— Enemy’s  Camp. 

“ My  Dear  General  : 

“ I am  very  much  ashamed  of  being  in  the  enemy’s  hands,  but  with- 
out any  consent  of  my  own.  I refused  to  allow  myself  to  be  taken  to 
the  rear  after  being  wounded,  because  from  the  amount  of  bleeding,  I 
thought  the  wound  to  be  fatal  ; it  was  useless  to  take  men  from  the  field 
under  any  circumstances,  for  that  purpose. 

“ As  I was  in  a state  of  insensibility,  I was  picked  up  by  the  first  party 
which  came  along,  which  proved  to  be  the  enemy.  I hope  you  know, 
General,  that  I never  would  have  surrendered,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  save  my  own  life,  or  anybody’s  else,  and  if  Generals  Smith  or  John- 
ston are  under  a different  impression,  I hope  you  will  make  a statement 
of  the  facts  of  the  case. 


21 


“I  am  extremely  anxious  to  be  exchanged  into  service  again  ; I am 
not  fit  for  field  service,  and  will  not  be  for  some  time,  but  I can  be  of 
service  in  any  stationary  position  with  heavy  artillery. 

“ I would  be  glad  that  an  immediate  effort  be  made  for  my  exchange 
by  resigning  my  place  as  Brigadier  General  and  accepting  the  place  of 
Junior  Lieutenant  of  artillery.  If  I am  ordered  to  Fort  Sumter,  I can 
do  good  duty.  I do  not  suppose  there  will  be  any  objection  to  make 
this  exchange,  and  I make  this  proposition  because  we  have  no  Briga- 
dier General  to  exchange,  and  I suppose  after  I lay  down  this  rank  there 
will  be  no  disposition  to  hold  me  personally,  beyond  any  other  officer. 

“ I hope  my  troops  did  well,  although  deprived  of  my  leadership. 

“Very  truly, 

“(Signed.)  J.  J.  Pettigrew.” 

“After  some  weeks  of  inaction,”  says  Major  Fairly,  of  Gen.  Whit- 
ing’s staff,  writing  to  the  speaker,  “the  march,  ostensibly  to  reinforce 
Jackson  in  the  Valley,  was  taken  up  by  Gen.  Whiting’s  Division.  I was 
afterwards  told  that  it  occurred  in  this  way  : Early  in  June,  when  all 
was  still  quiet  along  the  lines,  one  day  Gen.  Whiting  rode  over  to  the 
quarters  of  Gen.  Lee,  and  learning  that  he  was  out,  sat  down  at  his  desk 
and  wrote  on  a slip  of  paper,  ‘If  you  don’t  move,  McClellan  will  dig 
you  out  of  Richmond,’  and  left  it,  asking  Col.  Chilton,  I think,  to  call 
the  General’s  attention  to  it  upon  his  return.  It  was  not  long  before  a 
courier  came  to  Whiting’s  headquarters  with  a note  or  message  asking 
Gen.  W.  to  come  to  army  headquarters.  On  his  arrival,  the  General 
said,  1 General  Whiting,  I received  your  note  ; what  do  you  propose  ? ’ 
Whiting  then  developed  the  plan  of  appearing  to  reinforce  Jackson’s 
victorious  army  in  the  Valley,  thus  threatening  Washington,  and  causing 
stoppage  of  troops  then  about  to  leave  Washington  to  reinforce  McClel- 
lan, and  Jackson,  by  forced  marches,  was  to  fall  on  his  right,  north  of 
the  Chickahominy  River,  and  destroy  him  before  the  powers  at  Wash- 
ington could  discover  the  ‘ ruse  de  guerre'  and  send  him  reinforcements. 

“Gen.  Lee  approved,  but  said,  ‘Whom  can  I send?’  Gen.  Whiting 
replied,  ‘Send  me.’  ‘Ah,  but  I can’t  spare  you;  you  command  five 
brigades.’  Gen.  Whiting,  with  the  unselfish  patriotism  which  always 
characterised  him,  said,  ‘I  will  take  my  two  old  brigades  and  go,’  to 
which  Lee  replied,  ‘ When  can  you  go?  ’ ‘I  am  ready  now,’  said  Whit- 
ing. ‘Oh  ! ’ said  Gen.  Lee,  ‘you  can  march  Thursday.’  This  occurred, 
I think,  on  Tuesday.  And  so  he  did.’  ” * * * * * 

“ We  lay  at  Staunton  two  days.  The  next  morning  we  began  a forced 
march  to  meet  Jackson’s  corps  at  Brown’s  Gap,  where  we  took  the  lead 
and  kept  it.  The  rapidity  of  the  march  may  be  judged  when  I say,  that 
the  teamsters  were  ordered  to  water  their  horses  before  starting,  and  not 
to  allow  them  to  stop  for  water  until  night,  and  I was  instructed  to  stay 
by  the  column  and  enforce  the  order.  I could  but  sympathize  with  the 


22 


teamsters,  but  horses  must  suffer  that  our  men  might  be  fed  on  the 
march,  and  so  kept  up  to  their  work. 

“Our  division  led  the  advance  of  Jackson’s  Corps,  and  reached  the 
field  of  Gaines’  Mill,  or  Cold  Harbor,  about  5 o’clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  27th  June,  1862,  and,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  on  Friday, 
and  none  too  early,  for  I learned  that  every  division  of  ours  north  of 
the  Chickahominy  had  been  thrown  against  McClellan’s  right,  held  by 
Fitz  John  Porter,  and  all  had  failed  ; and  we  soon  knew  why.  He  had 
twenty  thousand  United  States  regulars  behind  the  strongest  field  forti- 
fications that  I had  ever  seen,  both  from  construction  and  position.” 

The  battle  of  Gaines’  Mill,  one  of  the  most  sanguinary 
conflicts  of  the  Seven  Days’  Battle,  occurred  June  27th, 
and  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson  thus  reports  of  two  of  the 
brigades  of  General  Whiting’s  division  (although  the 
General  was  only  a Brigadier  in  actual  rank).  Jacksons  says: 

“ Dashing  on  with  unfaltering  step,  in  the  face  of  those  murderous 
discharges  of  canister  and  musketry,  Gen.  Hood  and  Col.  E.  M.  Law, 
at  the  head  of  their  respective  brigades,  rushed  to  the  charge  with  a 
yell.  Moving  down  a precipitous  ravine,  leaping  ditch  and  stream, 
clambering  up  a difficult  ascent,  and  exposed  to  an  incessant  and  deadly 
fire  from  the  entrenchments,  these  brave  and  determined  men  pressed 
forward,  driving  the  enemy  from  his  well-selected  and  fortified  position. 
In  this  charge,  in  which  upwards  of  a thousand  men  fell,  killed  and 
wounded,  before  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  in  which  fourteen  pieces  of 
artillery  and  nearly  a regiment  were  captured,  the  Fourth  Texas,  under 
the  lead  of  Gen.  Hood,  were  the  first  to  pierce  these  strongholds  and 
seizethe  guns.” 

The  Sixth  North  Carolina  participated  in  this  famous 
charge.  Gen.  K.  M.  Law,  commanding  one  of  these  brig- 
ades under  Whiting,  describes  the  action  fully  in  the 
“ Southern  Bivouac  ” (1867).  He  saYs^ 

“By  5 p.  m.,  on  the  27th  June,  the  battle  of  Gaines’  Mill  was  in  full 
progress  all  along  the  lines.  Longstreet’s  and  A.  P.  Hill’s  men  were 
attacking  in  the  most  determined  manner,  but  were  met  with  a courage 
as  obstinate  as  their  own,  by  the  Federals  who  held  the  works. 

“After  each  bloody  repulse,  the  Confederates  only  waited  long  enough 
to  reform  their  shattered  lines,  or  to  bring  up  their  supports,  when  they 
would  again  return  to  the  assault.  Besides  the  terrific  fire  in  front,  a 
battery  of  heavy  guns  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy  was  in 
full  play  upon  their  right  flank. 


23 


“ There  was  no  opportunity  for  manoeuvering  or  flank  attacks,  as  was 
the  case  with  D.  H.  Hill,  on  our  extreme  left.  The  enemy  was  directly 
in  front,  and  he  could  only  be  reached  in  that  direction.  If  he  could 
not  be  driven  out  before  night  it  would  be  equivalent  to  a Confederate 
disaster,  and  would  involve  the  failure  of  Gen.  Tee’s  whole  plan  for  the 
relief  of  Richmond. 

************* 

“ It  was  a critical  moment  for  the  Confederates,  as  victory,  which  in- 
volved the  relief  or  loss  of  their  capitol,  hung  wavering  in  the  balance. 
Night  seemed  about  to  close  the  account  against  them,  as  the  sun  was 
now  setting  upon  their  gallant,  but  so  far  fruitless  efforts. 

“While  matters  were  in  this  condition,  Whiting’s  division,  after  cross- 
ing, with  much  difficulty,  the  wooded  and  marshy  ground  below  Gaines’ 
Mill,  arrived  in  rear  of  that  position  of  the  line  held  by  the  remnants 
of  A.  P.  Hill’s  division.  When  Whiting  advanced  to  the  attack,  a thin 
and  irregular  line  of  General  Hill’s  troops  were  keeping  up  the  fight, 
but,  already  badly  cut  up,  could  effect  nothing,  and  were  gradually 
wasting  away  under  the  heavy  fire  from  the  Federal  lines.  From  the 
center  of  the  division  to  the  Chickahominy  Swamp  on  the  right  the 
ground  was  open,  on  the  left  were  thick  woods  ; the  right  brigade  (Taw's) 
advanced  in  the  open  ground,  the  left  (Hood’s)  through  the  woods. 

“As  we  moved  forward  to  the  firing,  we  could  see  the  straggling  Con- 
federate line,  lying  behind  a gentle  ridge  that  ran  across  the  field,  par- 
allel to  the  Federal  position.  We  passed  one  Confederate  battery,  in 
the  edge  of  the  field,  badly  cut  to  pieces  and  silent.  Indeed,  there  was 
no  Confederate  artillery  then  in  action  on  that  part  of  the  field.  The 
Federal  batterries  in  front  were  in  full  play.  The  fringe  of  woods  along 
the  Federal  line  was  shrouded  in  smoke,  and  seemed  fairly  to  vomit 
forth  a leaden  and  iron  hail. 

“ Gen.  Whiting  rode  along  his  line  and  ordered  that  there  should  be 
no  halt  when  we  reached  the  slight  crest  occupied  by  the  few  Confederate 
troops  in  our  front,  but  that  the  charge  should  begin  at  that  point,  in 
double-quick  time,  with  trailing  arms  and  without  firing. 

“ Had  these  orders  not  been  strictly  obeyed  the  assault  would  have 
been  a failure  ; no  troops  could  have  stood  long  under  the  withering 
storm  of  lead  and  iron  that  beat  into  their  faces,  as  they  became  fully 
exposed  to  view,  from  the  Federal  lines.  As  it  was,  in  the  very  few 
moments  it  took  them  to  pass  over  the  slope  and  down  the  hill  to 
the  ravine,  a thousand  men  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  brigade  ad- 
vanced to  the  attack  in  two  lines. 

************* 

“ Passing  over  the  scattering  line  of  Confederates  on  the  ridge  in  front, 
the  whole  division  ‘broke  into  a trot  ’ down  the  slope  toward  the  Fed- 
eral works.  Men  fell  like  leaves  in  an  autumn  wind  ; the  Federal  artil- 
lery tore  gaps  in  the  ranks  at  every  step  ; the  ground  in  rear  of  the  ad- 


24 


vancing  column  was  strewn  thickly  with  the  dead  and  wounded.  Not 
a gun  was  fired  in  reply  ; there  was  no  confusion,  and  not  a step  faltered 
as  the  two  gray  lines  swept  silently  and  swiftly  on  ; the  pace  became 
more  rapid  every  moment ; when  the  men  were  within  thirty  yards  of 
the  ravine,  and  could  see  the  desperate  nature  of  the  work  in  hand,  a 
wild  yell  answered  the  roar  of  Federal  musketry,  and  they  rushed  for 
the  works. 

“ The  Confederates  were  within  ten  paces  of  them  when  the  Federals 
in  the  front  line  broke,  and  leaving  their  log  breastworks,  swarmed  up 
the  hill  in  their  rear,  carrying  away  their  second  line  with  them  in  their 
rout.  Then  we  had  our  ‘innings.’  As  the  blue  mass  surged  up  the  hill 
in  our  front,  the  Confederate  fire  was  poured  into  it  with  terrible  effect. 
The  target  was  a large  one,  the  range  short,  and  scarcely  a shot  fired 
into  that  living  mass  could  fail  of  its  errand.  The  debt  of  blood,  con- 
tracted but  a few  moments  before,  was  paid  with  interest. 

“Firing  as  they  advanced,  the  Confederates  leaped  into  the  ravine, 
climbed  out  on  the  other  side,  and  over  the  lines  of  breastworks,  reach- 
ing the  crest  of  the  hill  beyond  with  such  rapidity,  as  to  capture  all  of 
the  Federal  artillery  (fourteen  pieces)  at  that  point. 

“ We  had  now  reached  the  high  plateau  in  rear  of  the  centre  of  Gen. 
Porter’s  position,  his  line  having  been  completely  cut  in  two,  and  thus 
rendered  no  longer  tenable.  From  the  flanks  where  Whiting’s  Division 
had  burst  through,  the  Federal  lines  gave  way  in  both  directions. 

“ R.  H.  Anderson’s  brigade,  till  then  in  reserve,  passed  through  on 
the  right,  and  led  the  way  for  Longstreet’s  Division,  while  on  the  left 
the  roll  of  musketry  receded  towards  the  Chickahominy,  and  the  cheer- 
ing of  the  victorious  Confederates  announced  that  Jackson,  Ewell  and 
D.  H.  Hill  were  sweeping  that  part  of  the  field. 

“The  battle  was  won,  and  the  Federal  infantry  was  in  full  flight 
towards  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy.” — Battles  and  Leaders  of  the 
Civil  War , p.  363. 

General  Whiting  should  have  been  promoted  as  Major 
General  immediately  after  the  Seven  Days’  Battles,  but 
unaccountably  it  was  delayed  until  the  next  year.  With 
a sense  of  injustice  at  the  reduction  of  his  command  to  a 
brigade  thereafter,  he  wrote  to  General  Lee,  and  transmit- 
ted certain  important  papers.  The  following  is  the  answer 
of  General  Lee  (from  an  unpublished  letter).  I read: 

August  9th,  1862. 

My  Dear  General:  I have  received  your  note  of  the  4th;  have  read 
the  enclosures  with  interest.  I return  them  at  your  request.  But  forget 


25 


them,  General;  do  not  let  us  recollect  unpleasant  things;  life  is  very 
short  We  have  so  much  to  do.  We  can  do  so  much  good,  too,  if  we 
are  not  turned  aside.  Everything  will  come  right  in  the  end.  * * * 

There  is  not  much  science  or  strategy  required  in  our  present  contest. 
Do  not  let  that  disturb  you.  * * * I am  glad  to  hear  you  are  doing 

well.  * * * G.  W.  Smith  has  returned  to  duty,  and  I learn  General 

Johnston  is  progressing  favorably.  So  you  will  believe  me  when  I say 
all  things  will  come  right. 

Wishing  you  all  happiness, 

I am,  very  truly  yours,  R.  E.  LEE. 

Gen.  W.  H.  C.  Whiting. 

Events  at  this  period  will  be  better  understood  by  the 
perusal  of  the  following  letter  to  the  speaker,  from  Gen. 
Gustavus  W.  Smith  (now  of  New  York  city),  who  was 
second  in  command  to  General  Johnston  at  Seven  Pines, 
and  subsequently  in  command  of  the  army  until  relieved 
by  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee: 

130  East  115TH  Street, 

New  York  City,  April  23,  1895. 

Capt.  C.  B.  Denson,  Raleigh , N.  C. 

My  Dear  Sir:  In  compliance  with  your  request  of  the  10th  instant, 
I send  you  “my  views  of  the  military  services  of  the  late  Major  General 
W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  C.  S.  A.” 

In  doing  so,  it  seems  best  that  I should  refer,  at  least  in  a general 
way,  to  the  opportunities  I had  for  forming  opinions  on  that  subject. 

General  Whiting  and  myself  were  associated  for  one  year  as  Cadets 
in  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  When  he  entered,  in  July, 
i84i,  I had  just  passed  into  the  first  class.  During  the  year  that  we  had 
been  together  before  my  graduation,  I came  to  know  him  well.  At  that 
time  he  was  a lad  of  very  prepossessing  appearance  and  of  great  prom- 
ise. At  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  at  the  head  of  his  class,  in  which 
were  many  who,  later,  became  highly  distinguished  Generals.  Among 
these  were  W.  F.  Smith  and  Fitz  John  Porter. 

In  1844,  when  I returned  to  the  Academy,  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
as  an  Assistant  Professor  of  Engineering,  Whiting  was  still  at  the  head 
of  his  class,  and  for  a large  portion  of  that  year  came  under  my  imme- 
diate personal  instruction. 

In  1845  he  was  graduated  and  appointed  Lieutenant  in  the  Corps  of 
Engineers  U.  S.  Army,  in  which  I had  then  served  three  years.  The 
intimate  friendly  relations  that  were  formed  between  us  during  the  two 
years  we  were  together  at  West  Point  continued  until  1861 — although 
we  were  most  of  the  time  stationed  at  ports  far  distant  from  each  other. 


26 


In  the  latter  year,  when  I joined  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston’s  army,  in  Sep- 
tember, and  was  assigned  to  command  the  Second  Corps,  Whiting  com- 
manded one  of  its  brigades;  and  our  personal  and  official  relations  were 
from  that  time  closer  and  more  intimate  than  ever  before. 

In  the  early  part  of  that  summer  Whiting  had  been  Chief  of  Staff  to 
Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston.  At  the  battle  of  Manassas,  July  21,  1861,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General  of  Volunteers,  and  placed 
in  command  of  Bee’s  brigade,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  General 
Barnard  E.  Bee,  killed  in  that  battle. 

Whiting  was  justly  proud  of  his  new  assignment,  and  he  determined, 
if  possible,  to  fully  supply  the  place  made  vacant  by  Bee’s  death.  But 
it  was  soon  suggested  by  President  Davis  that  the  existing  brigades  in 
that  army  should  be  reorganized. 

On  that  subject  the  President  wrote  to  me,  October  10,  1861:  “ How 
have  you  progressed  in  the  solution  of  the  problem  I left — the  organiza- 
tion of  troops  with  reference  to  States  and  terms  of  service?  Missis- 
sippi troops  were  scattered  as  if  the  State  was  unknown.  Brig.  Gen. 
Clark  was  sent  to  remove  a growing  dissatisfaction,  but  though  the 
State  had  nine  regiments  there,  he,  Clark,  was  put  in  command  of  a 
port  and  depot  of  supplies.  These  nine  regiments  should  form  two 
brigades — Brigadiers  Clark  and  (as  a native  of  Mississippi)  Whiting 
should  be  placed  in  command  of  them,  and  the  regiments  for  the  war 
should  be  put  in  the  army  man’s  brigades.” 

Besides  his  rank  in  the  Volunteers,  Whiting  then  held  a commission 
as  Major  of  Corps  of  Engineers  in  the  regular  Confederate  States  Army. 
On  the  24th  October,  1861,  he  wrote  to  me:  “I  had  heard  that  attempts 
were  on  foot  to  organize  the  regiments  into  brigades  by  States — a policy 
as  suicidal  as  foolish.  * * * For  my  own  part,  I shall  protest  to  the 

bitter  end  against  an)r  of  my  regiments  being  taken  from  me;  they  are 
used  to  me  and  I to  them,  and  accustomed  to  act  together.  If  left  to 
their  own  desires,  not  one  would  be  willing  to  change.  It  has  been 
reported  to  me  that  a General  Clark  of  Mississippi  came  into  my  camp 
and  wanted  Falkner  and  Liddell,  commanding  two  of  the  best  regiments 
in  the  service,  to  unite  with  him  in  getting  them  under  his  command. 
They  refused.  He  did  not  do  me  the  honor  to  call  upon  me;  nor  did  I 
know  of  his  presence  or  his  object.  Had  I known  his  purpose  I would 
have  put  him  in  arrest.  He  was  miffed  because  they  preferred  to  remain 
as  they  are. 

‘‘If  they  persist  at  Richmond  (in  their  purpose  to  reorganize  the 
brigades),  they  will  be  guilty  of  inconceivable  folly.  * * * For  one, 
I am  not  disposed  to  submit  for  one  moment  to  any  system  which  is 
devised  solely  for  the  advancement  of  log-rolling,  humbugging  politi- 
cians— and  I will  not  do  it.  If  the  worst  comes,  I can  go  back  to  North 
Carolina  or  Georgia,  where  I shall  be  welcome,  and  where  I shall  (as 
Major  of  Engineers)  find  enough  to  do  in  defending  the  coast.” 


27 


The  proposed  reorganization  of  brigades  was  not  carried  into  effect 
at  that  time;  and  General  Whiting  retained  command  of  the  troops 
who  were  used  to  him,  and  he  to  them. 

When  General  Johnston’s  army  occupied  the  defensive  line  at  and 
near  Yorktown,  General  Whiting  commanded  a division  composed  of 
three  brigades — his  own  and  those  of  Hood  and  Hampton.  That  divis- 
ion formed  a portion  of  my  command  during  the  operations  at  York- 
town, and  in  the  withdrawal  of  our  army  to  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. 

On  the  28th  May,  1862,  under  authority  from  General  Johnston,  the 
following  order  was  issued  by  my  direction: 

“The  division  now  commanded  by  Brig.  Gen.  Whiting,  and  the  brig- 
ades of  Brig.  Gen.  Pettigrew  and  Brig.  Gen.  Hatton  will,  until  further 
orders,  constitute  one  division  under  command  of  Brig.  Gen.  Whiting.” 

That  division  bore  my  name.  My  command,  proper,  at  that  time, 
was  the  left  wing  of  General  Johnston’s  army,  which  was  composed  of 
the  division  under  Whiting,  and  the  divisions  of  A.  P.  Hill  and  D.  R. 
Jones. 

On  the  next  day,  May  29th,  General  Johnston  wrote  to  General 
Whiting:  “For  any  purpose  but  that  contemplated  yesterday  the  present 
disposition  of  our  troops  is  not  good — it  is  too  strong  on  the  extreme 
left.  If  we  get  into  a fight  here,  you  will  have  to  hurry  to  help  us.  I 
think  it  will  be  best  for  A.  P.  Hill’s  troops  (his  division)  to  watch  the 
brigades,  and  for  yours  to  be  well  in  this  direction — ready  to  act  any- 
where. Tell  G.  W.  (General  G.  W.)  Smith,  commander  of  the  left  wing 
of  the  army.” 

On  the  30th  of  May,  9:15  p.  m.,  General  Johnston  sent  direct  to  Gen- 
eral Whiting  an  order  preparatory  for  battle;  and  at  the  same  time  sent 
the  order  to  me  : “If  nothing  prevents,  we  will  fall  upon  the  enemy 
in  front  of  Major  General  (D.  H.)  Hill,  who  occupies  the  position  on 
the  Williamsburg  road,  from  which  your  troops  moved  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Meadow  Bridges.  Please  be  ready  to  move  by  the  Nine-mile 
road,  coming  as  early  as  possible  to  the  point  at  which  the  road  to  New 
Bridge  turns  off. 

“Should  there  be  cause  of  haste,  General  McLaws,  on  your  approach, 
will  be  ordered  to  leave  his  ground  for  you,  that  he  may  reinforce  Gen. 
Longstreet. 

“McLaw’s  division  was  guarding  the  crossings  of  the  Chickahominy 
from  the  Mechanicsville,  and  formed  a portion  of  the  center  of  the 
army,  commanded  by  General  Magruder.  ” 

The  leading  brigades  of  the  division  under  Whiting  moved  at  dawn 
from  1 heir  position  in  “the  neighborhood  of  Meadow  Bridges;”  and 
soon  after  sunrise,  May  31,  near  General  Johnston’s  headquarters  in  the 
northeast  suburb  of  Richmond,  formed  their  line  of  march  to  the  Nine- 
mile  road,  obstructed  by  troops  of  Tongstreet’s  division.  Becoming 
impatient  at  the  delay  thus  caused,  General  Whiting  addressed  a note 


28 


to  General  Johnston  on  that  subject,  and  received  the  following  reply 
from  an  officer  of  the  General  Staff : 

“ General  Johnston  directs  me  to  say,  in  answer  to  yours  of  this  date, 
that  General  Longstreet  will  precede  you.  What  he  said  about  McLaw’s 
(in  the  order  of  battle  sent  to  Whiting),  was  merely  in  case  of  emer- 
gency. He  has  given  no  orders  to  Magruder.” 

From  that  time  the  movements  of  the  division  under  Whiting  were 
directed  by  General  Johnston  in  person.  He  was  with  it  the  whole  day, 
until  he  was  wounded  a little  before  sunset.  Whoever  may  be  responsi- 
ble for  the  most  unfortunate  delay  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates  in 
attacking  the  Federal  Corps,  badly  isolated  at  Seven  Pines,  on  the 
morning  of  the  31st  May,  no  blame  can  attach  to  Whiting,  or  to  the 
division  he  commanded. 

Without  entering  upon  a description  of  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  it 
may  be  mentioned  here,  that,  as  second  officer  in  rank  in  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  I took  command  at  dark  on  the  31st  May;  General 
Joseph  K.  Johnston  having  been,  a short  time  before,  removed  from  the 
field  very  seriously  wounded.  About  2 p.  M.  on  the  istof  June,  by  order 
of  President  Davis,  I turned  over  the  command,  on  the  field,  to  Gen. 
R.  E.  Dee.  On  the  2d  June  I was  suddenly  struck  down  by  disease 
and  taken  to  Richmond. 

On  the  10th  June,  General  Whiting  addressed  the  following  to  my 
Chief  of  Staff : 

“The  attention  of  the  General  commanding  the  army  should  be  called 
to  the  condition  of  this  division.  Its  effective  strength  is  daily  decreas- 
ing. Since  Yorktown,  with  the  exception  of  some  four  days  when  it 
was  encamped  near  Richmond,  it  has  been  constantly  in  contact  with 
the  enemy.  It  has  fought  two  battles  (one  near  the  head  of  York  river, 
the  other  at  Seven  Pines),  the  last  engagement  of  great  severity,  in 
which  it  suffered  heavy  loss,  especially  in  officers;  followed  by  two  days 
of  great  hardship  and  privation.  It  now  occupies  an  important  position, 
where  the  service  is  exceedingly  onerous,  directly  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy,  with  whom  they  are  constantly  engaged.  They  are  in  a swamp 
of  exceedingly  unhealthy  character,  and  to  properly  defend  our  center 
the  labor  is  exhausting.  * * * It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  other 

troops  relieve  (this)  the  first  division.  If  no  other  offers,  the  second 
(that  of  A.  P.  Hill,  which  was  not  engaged  at  Seven  Pines)  might  take 
its  place.  The  Major  General,  no  doubt,  is  well  aware  of  the  condition 
of  affairs,  and  although  (he  is)  not  now  on  duty,  I appeal  to  his  influ- 
ence if  it  can  be  exerted.  A copy  of  this  is  sent  direct  to  the  General 
Commanding  the  Army.” 

The  foregoing  appeal  resulted  in  the  relief  of  that  division  from  its 
“ onerous  ” service.  In  an  interview  with  General  Lee,  Whiting  sug- 
gested and  requested  that  orders  be  issued  requiring  him  to  take  his 
own  brigade  and  that  of  Hood,  by  rail,  via  Lynchburg,  to  join  General 


29 


Jackson’s  forces  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  then  march  with  those 
forces  to  rejoin  the  main  army. 

The  instructions  were  given  and  executed;  and  these  two  brigades, 
under  Whiting’s  command,  played  an  important  part  in  Tee’s  opera- 
tions against  McClellan  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  continued  under 
Lee  until  Whiting  was  selected  by  the  Confederate  Government  to  take 
charge  of  the  defences  of  Wilmington  and  the  Cape  Fear  District. 

In  the  meantime  I had  partially  regained  health,  and  been  assigned 
command  in  portions  of  Virginia  and  the  whole  State  of  North  Carolina, 
with  headquarters  at  Richmond.  Thus,  Whiting’s  assignment  to  the 
Cape  Fear  District  brought  him  again  under  my  command. 

Soon  thereafter  I urged,  and  repeatedly  insisted,  that  in  all  fairness,- 
he  ought  to  be  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major  General.  The  importance 
of  the  command  he  then  exercised  would  more  than  justify  his  imme- 
diate advancement;  and  his  previous  services,  as  commander  of  a divis- 
ion in  more  than  one  campaign,  and  upon  various  battle-fields,  fully 
entitled  him  to  this  promotion. 

On  the  7th  February,  1863,  I resigned  my  commission  in  the  Confed- 
erate States  Army.  On  the  14th  General  Whiting  wrote: 

“I  received  your  note  with  great  sorrow.  It  leaves  me  in  the  dark 
about  the  causes  of  so  serious  a step.  I suppose  unwarranted  interfer- 
ence with  your  command  is  the  immediate  reason.” 

On  the  23d  of  the  same  month  he  wrote:  ‘‘I  know  you  have  a great 
deal  of  injustice  to  put  up  with  and,  harder  yet,  I see  the  Secretary  of 
War  interfering  in  the  subordinate  details  of  your  command;  but  remem- 
ber what  you  told  me  when  I,  too,  was  smarting  under  injustice  of  no 
common  kind.” 

From  the  time  he  entered  the  Confederate  service  as  Chief  Engineer 
at  Charleston,  Whiting,  in  every  position  he  was  called  upon  to  fill, 
proved  himself  to  be  a thoroughly  competent  officer.  His  great  natural 
ability  was  supplemented  by  a high  order  of  education  and  systematic 
study  of  his  profession.  His  good  influence  over  officers  and  men  under 
him  was  unbounded;  and  he  was  thoroughly  loyal  and  true  to  those 
who  were  placed  over  him. 

His  extraordinary  skill  as  a military  engineer  was  fully  exemplified 
in  the  defensive  works  he  planned  and  constructed  for  the  defense  of 
the  approaches  to  Wilmington;  and,  I am  convinced,  that  in  the  final 
attack  of  the  Federals  upon  that  place,  President  Davis,  by  superseding 
General  Whiting  at  the  eleventh  hour  and  depriving  him  of  supreme 
control  over  the  defences  he  had  created,  made  a sad  mistake. 

In  private  life,  in  every  relation,  he  was  always  a warm-hearted,  high- 
toned  gentleman,  respected  and  beloved  for  his  great  worth.  His  death, 
from  wounds  received  when  Wilmington  fell,  was  deeply  lamented  by 
all  Federal,  as  well  as  Confederate,  officers  who  knew  him. 

Very  truly  yours,  GUSTAVUS  W.  SMITH. 


30 


On  the  28th  February,  1863,  the  long  delayed  promotion 
of  Brigadier  General  Whiting  to  Major  General  was  made, 
and  the  correspondence  of  the  General  shows  letters  from 
some  of  the  best  and  bravest  General  Officers  of  the  army 
writing  of  their  own  accord  to  entreat  him  not  to  decline 
the  tardy  recognition,  but  to  accept  and  work  on  for  the 
good  of  the  cause.  General  Smith  said,  “Accept,  I beg 
you,  what  in  justice  should  have  been  done  long  ago.” 

General  Gist  wrote  from  Charleston: 

» 

“ Knowing  you  will  feel  disposed  to  decline  this  promotion,  from  high 
and  proper  motives,  I have  concluded  to  intrude  my  advice,  and  beg 
you  to  accept.  Although  all  acknowledge  that  you  should  have  been 
promoted  long  ago  ; still,  we  must  make  sacrifices  for  our  common  coun- 
try and  cause.  In  common  with  many  officers  and  citizens,  I much  de- 
sireyou  to  be  sent  to  us,  for  the  command  of  the  district  of  Charleston. 
We  will  have  additional  troops  soon,  and  may  expect  a Major  General  to 
command  the  whole.” 

It  adds  to  the  force  of  this  letter  to  remember  that  its 
writer  was  then  senior  Brigadier  General  commanding  at 
Charleston  himself. 

He  was  called  now  to  the  defence  of  Wilmington,  pro- 
ceeding to  his  post  of  duty  in  November,  1862.  A week 
afterwards  he  writes  the  General  Commanding  at  Rich- 
mond : 

“My  first,  and  last  request  will  be  for  troops.  Not  less  than  10,000 
effective  men  should  be  collected  as  soon  as  possible,  with  five  or  six 
field  batteries.  The  peculiar  features  of  the  site  make  ihe  presence  of  a 
strong  manoeuvreing  force,  in  addition  to  the  stationary  batteries,  indis- 
pensable. ” 


The  importance  of  Wilmington,  the  only  port  practica- 
ble for  use  by  Confederates,  it  is  impossible  to  set  forth  to 
those  unacquainted  with  the  straits  of  the  Confederacy. 
It  was  the  mouth  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  when  it 
was  closed,  arms,  ammunition,  food,  clothing,  medicines, 
machinery  and  supplies  of  every  character  were  cut  off. 


31 


To  lose  it  was  to  receive  a fatal  blow — a wound  which 
must  endanger  the  life  of  Lee’s  army. 

It  was  difficult  of  defence — easy  to  attack  by  one  or 
more  of  a number  of  routes.  Situated  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  fortifications  at  the  nearest  mouth  of  the  Cape 
Fear,  it  was  yet  only  about  six  miles  from  points  on  the 
coast,  where  a landing  might  be  effected.  Assailable  not 
only  here,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  by  way  of  Oak 
Island,  below  Caswell,  and  an  expedition  via  Southport, 
or  by  march  from  Kinston  or  Newbern,  the  enemy’s  cav.^^j 
having  occupied  the  line  as  far  as  New  Hope,  in  Onslow; 
or,  again,  by  attack  upon  Caswell  or  Fort  Fisher.  Its  pres- 
ervation was  a source  of  deep  anxiety. 

It  was,  in  fact,  the  second  capital  of  the  Confederacy. 

Here  the  wharves  were  lined  with  the  swift,  narrow,  smoke- 
colored,  blockade-running  steamships  taking  away  cotton 
and  bringing  supplies.  Men  of  all  nationalities  were  upon 
these,  and  possibly  spies.  The  beautiful  snow-white  ensign 
of  the  South,  with  the  battle-flag  of  the  troops  for  its  union, 
fluttered  from  the  Chickamauga  and  other  vessels  of  war; 
ammunition  and  ordnance  for  the  most  distant  points  were 
landed  upon  the  wharves,  and  sent  away,  even  when  the 
eager  eyes  of  those  whose  safety  was  bound  up  with  Wil- 
mington’s defence  saw  it  leaving  the  spot  where  it  was 
most  needed. 

Strange  to  say,  never  was  the  vast  importance  of  this 
last  harbor  of  access  from  the  rest  of  Christendom  appre- 
ciated, until  the  die  was  cast  and  all  was  over! 

General  Whiting  was  ordered  there  in  November,  1862, 
the  place  having  been  thought  comparatively  safe  from 
attack  during  the  fall  of  that  year,  while  an  epidemic  of 
yellow  fever  ravaged  the  city  and  cost  the  lives  of  many 
noble  men. 

It  was  no  longer  a question  of  batteries  strong  enough 
for  resistance  against  a few  vessels,  but  as  port  after  port 


32 


was  closed,  and  many  taken,  the  day  came  when  the  effec- 
tive force  of  the  flower  of  the  whole  American  Navy  was 
to  be  brought  to  bear.  Appreciating  this,  the  General 
gave  himself,  his  every  thought  and  effort,  to  the  gigantic 
task  before  him. 

Ably  seconded  by  the  brave  and  vigorous  efforts  of  Col. 
William  Lamb,  commanding  the  Thirty-sixth  North  Caro- 
lina (a  regiment  of  heavy  artillery),  he  encouraged  the 
exertions  of  Lamb  in  building  and  strengthening  the  huge 
Mound  Battery  and  a line  of  defence  on  the  land  side  at 
Fort  Fisher,  while  he  gave  his  own  attention  to  the  entire 
system  of  defences  as  a whole.  Forts  Caswell,  Holmes, 
Campbell,  Anderson  and  others  were  greatly  strengthened, 
enlarged,  furnished  with  better  artillery  where  practicable, 
military  roads  and  bridges  made  extending  up  the  Sounds, 
complete  topographical  maps  prepared,  torpedoes  made  and 
filled,  the  channel  obstructed  except  at  points  commanded 
by  a chain  ot  batteries  on  the  river,  a pontoon  bridge  con- 
structed, batteries  thrown  up  commanding  the  approach  at 
North  East  river  from  Goldsboro  or  Newbern,  redoubts 
built  near  the  city,  mines  dug,  and  telegraphs  placed  in 
position. 

But  there  were  two  vital  needs  he  could  not  control — the 
number  of  troops  to  support  the  works,  and  the  amount  of 
ammunition  to  carry  on  the  contest.  His  letter-books 
show  not  one  appeal,  but  dozens  of  earnest,  imploring 
requests  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  of  General  Smith,  of 
General  Lee,  of  General  Bragg  when  stationed  at  Rich- 
mond in  general  charge,  and  of  the  President  himself, 
showing  with  the  prevision  of  the  great  military  genius, 
what  must  inevitably  ensue.  It  is  most  pathetic  to  read 
page  after  page,  and  think  how  literally  it  was  fulfilled. 

In  the  letter-book  of  General  Whiting  may  be  found  the 
following  clear  and  definite  warning,  written  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  July  24,  1863,  a year  and  a half  nearly  before 


33 


the  attack  came,  just  as  he  prophesied  with  his  unerring 
military  insight,  He  says: 

“I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  my  numerous  letters  to  your 
predecessor,  and  yourself,  in  defence  of  this  place,  and  my  memoir  to 
the  President. 

************* 

“ You  are  aware  that  the  town  can  be  approached  and  attacked  with- 
out any  demonstration  upon  the  harbor  at  all,  and  yet  if  the  city  should 
fall,  the  harbor  must  inevitably  be  lost.  Of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure 
— should  Wilmington  be  taken  by  the  enemy,  we  cannot  take  it  back. 
When  the  enemy  do  come  against  us,  it  will  not  be  sufficient  to  rely 
upon  a hasty  assemblage  of  regiments,  from  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try ; their  first  step  must  be  met  and  forced  back,  lest  it  prove  fatal. 

“ Let  them  get  a foothold,  either  near  Fisher  or  Caswell,  and  with 
their  immense  resources  and  water  carriage,  all  of  the  faithful  labors 
and  immense  work  done  here,  is  jeopardized  and  in  great  danger.  Or, 
let  them  approach  the  city  and  establish  themselves,  and  the  like  must 
result.  There  is  but  one  cause  to  prevent  it,  and  that  is,  their  point  of 
attack  being  ascertained  or  divined,  to  have  troops  at  hand  to  drive 
them  into  the  sea  the  moment  they  land.  Delay  or  weakness  gives 
them  cover  and  protection.  A few  days  with  the  powerful  flanking  fire 
of  their  navy,  on  an  open  beach,  and  they  are  impregnable,  and  have  a 
grasp  upon  the  place  that  we  cannot  unloose. 

“Very  respectfully, 

“ W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  Major  General 

General  Whiting  gave  his  heart  to  the  work  of  the  de- 
fence of  North  Carolina.  He  had  been  long  and  success- 
fully engaged,  before  the  war,  in  the  improvement  of  the 
navigation  of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  learned  to  know  and 
esteem  her  people.  He  had  won,  as  his  bride,  one  of  the 
noble  women  of  the  Cape  Fear,  Miss  Kate  D.  Walker, 
daughter  of  Major  John  Walker,  of  Smithville  and  Wil- 
mington. 

His  estimate  of  the  high-toned  people  among  whom  he 
lived  is  seen  in  the  military  order  published  in  the  winter 
of  1862,  by  him,  in  a period  of  great  anxiety: 

“I  request  all  those  citizens  of  Wilmington,  who  are  willing  to  take 
arms  in  defence  of  their  homes,  and  I well  know  there  are  many  such, 
to  organize  themselves  into  a body,  with  such  weapons  as  they  may 

3 


34 


have,  and  with  those  that  I can  supply,  and  I suggest  that  they  select  a 
leader  and  such  officers  as  their  numbers  require. 

“I  address  this  request  to  many  gallant  gentlemen,  who  from  age, 
and  according  to  law,  in  the  exercise  of  many  duties,  are  not  otherwise 
called  on  to  bear  arms  in  this  war.  I and  my  staff  will  be  glad  to  afford 
them  instruction,  at  such  times  and  places  as  may  be  most  convenient. 
They  will  be  called  on  when  the  enemy  is  at  our  doors.  I am  confident 
from  my  long  and  intimate  association  with  the  men  of  Wilmington, 
and  vicinity,  that  they  are  not  only  willing,  but  eager  to  fight  the  inva- 
der, and  am  sure  they  will  do  their  utmost  to  the  last. 

(Signed.)  “W.  H.  C.  Whiting, 

“Jas.  H.  Hilt,  “Brigs  Gen.  Commanding .” 

“ Chief  of  Staff.  ” 

The  ceaseless  labor  went  on  day  after  day,  month  after 
month,  heaping  up  defensive  works,  driving  palisades, 
sounding  the  channels  (for  the  treacherous  sands  of  that 
inlet  give  new  direction  to  the  channel  after  every  storm 
from  the  sea),  protecting  commerce,  and  the  routine  of  the 
command,  complicated  as  the  great  forwarding  depot  of 
the  South;  but  he  never  ceased  to  warn  Richmond  that 
stationary  fortifications  alone  could  not  accomplish  the 
impossible  task  of  holding  the  port;  there  must  be  a sup- 
porting force  of  troops  to  meet  at  once  troops  embarked  by 
the  enemy,  as  they  would  be  out  of  reach  of  the  guns  of 
of  the  Fort,  whether  on  Oak  Island  or  near  Fort  Fisher. 

Meanwhile  events  were  rapidly  progressing  elsewhere, 
and  the  sad  story  of  repeated  Confederate  losses  was  grow- 
ing familiar. 

The  following  remarkable  letter  from  Gen.  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  deserves  record  here: 

“Dalton,  Ga.,  March  7,  1864. 

“Major  General  Whiting. 

“My  Dear  Friend  : I cannot  express  to  you  the  satisfaction  given 
me  by  the  recognition  of  your  once  familiar  handwriting.  How  it  re- 
minded me  of  the  time  when  military  service  and  high  command  gave 
me  as  much  pride  as  pleasure ; and  gave  me  those  feelings  because  the 
General  Officers  serving  with  me,  were  soldiers  in  every  sense  of  the 
word— in  whom  I had  full  confidence.  Many  of  them — some  of  them, 
friends  whom  I loved. 


35 


“A  life,  as  long  as  Methuselah’s,  would  not  let  me  see  another  such 
army  as  that  we  had  from  Harper’s  Ferry,  via  Manassas  and  Yorktown, 
to  the  Chickahominy  and  Richmond.  However,  the  tone  and  temper 
of  this  army  has  certainly  improved  greatly  since  the  beginning  of  1864, 
and  I would  now  freely  meet  odds  of  three  to  two.  * * * The  only 

drawback  is  the  want  of  artillery  horses,  and  the  wretched  condition  of 
those  we  have.  We  have  scarcely  a team  capable  of  a day’s  march,  or 
a day’s  service  in  battle. 

“ I see  from  your  letter,  that  you  have  heard  of  my  attempt  to  get  you 
into  this  army  as  L,ieut.  General.  When  I made  the  recommendation, 
it  was  with  a strong  hope  of  success,  for  I had  heard  here  that  one  of 
the  President’s  A.  D.  C’s  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  you  \tfould  be 
promoted.  The  reason  given  for  putting  aside  the  recommendation, 
was  an  odd  one  to  me.  It  was  that  you  were  too  valuable  in  your  pres- 
ent place.  If  you  were  with  me,  I should  feel  confident.” 

What  line  of  eulogy,  however  expressed,  could  come 
with  greater  power  than  from  the  master  of  strategy  and 
the  patriot  hero,  whom  his  troops  loved  with  undying 
devotion,  and  who  gave  the  last  bloody  lesson  to  the  inva- 
der on  North  Carolina  soil — in  the  struggle  at  Bentonsville  ? 
To  ask  for  Whiting  as  his  second  in  command,  and  to 
declare:  “If  you  were  with  me,  I should  feel  confident!” 
That  is  a sentence  which  should  be  the  immortal  epitaph 
of  the  hero  whose  life  we  attempt  to  review  to-day. 

In  his  valuable  address,  delivered  at  the  request  of  Cape 
Fear  Camp,  United  Confederate  Veterans,  by  Col.  William 
Lamb,  is  this  description  of  Fort  Fisher,  which  was  still 
unfinished  when  the  attack  occurred.  He  says: 

“The  plans  were  my  own,  and  as  the  work  progressed,  were  approved 
by  French,  Raines,  Longstreet,  Beauregard  and  Whiting.  It  was  styled 
by  Federal  engineers,  ‘the  Malakoff  of  the  South.’  It  was  built  solely 
with  the  view  of  resisting  the  fire  of  a fleet,  and  it  stood  uninjured,  ex- 
cept as  to  armament,  two  of  the  fiercest  bombardments  the  world  has 
ever  witnessed. 

“The  two  faces  to  the  works  were  2,580  yards  long,  or  about  one  and 
a half  miles.  The  land  face  mounted  twenty  of  the  heaviest  sea-coast 
guns,  and  was  682  yards  long  ; the  sea-face  with  twenty-four  equally 
heavy  guns.  The  land  face  commenced  about  100  feet  from  the  river, 
with  a half  bastion,  originally  Shepherd’s  Battery,  which  had  been 
doubled  in  strength,  and  extended  with  a heavy  curtain  to  a full  bastion 


36 


on  the  ocean  side,  where  it  joined  the  sea-face.  The  work  was  built  to 
withstand  the  heaviest  artillery  fire.  There  was  no  moat  with  scarp  and 
counter  scarp  so  essential  for  defence  against  storming  parties,  the  shift- 
ing sands  rendering  its  construction  impossible,  with  the  material  avail- 
able. The  water  slope  was  twenty  feet  high  from  the  berme  to  the  top 
of  the  parapet,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  and  was  sodded  with 
marsh  grass,  which  grew  luxuriantly.  The  parapet  was  not  less  than 
twenty-five  feet  thick.  The  guns  were  all  mounted  en  barbette , with 
Columbiad  carriages  ; there  was  not  a single  casemated  gun  in  the  fort. 
Experience  had  taught,  that  casemates  of  timber  and  sand-bags  were  a 
delusion  and  a snare,  against  heavy  projectiles,  and  there  was  no  iron 
to  construct  others  with. 

“ Between  the  gun-chambers,  containing  one  or  two  guns  each,  there 
were  heavy  traverses,  exceeding  in  size  any  heretofore  constructed,  to 
protect  from  an  enfilading  fire.  They  extended  out  some  twelve  feet 
on  the  parapet,  and  were  twelve  feet  or  more  in  height  above  the  para- 
pet, running  back  thirty  feet  or  more.  Further  along,  where  the  chan- 
nel ran  close  to  the  beach,  inside  the  bar,  a mound  battery,  sixty  feet 
high,  was  erected,  with  two  heavy  guns,  which  had  a plunging  fire  on 
the  channel  ; this  was  connected  with  a battery  north  of  it,  by  a light 
curtain. 

“Following  the  line  of  the  works,  it  was  over  one  mile  from  the 
mound  to  the  redan,  at  the  angle  of  the  sea  and  the  land  faces.  From 
the  mound,  for  nearly  a mile,  to  the  end  of  the  point,  was  a level  sand 
plain,  scarce  three  feet  above  high  tide,  and  much  of  it  was  submerged 
during  gales.  At  the  point  itself,  was  Battery  Buchanan,  with  four  guns, 
in  the  shape  of  an  elliptic,  commanding  the  inlet,  its  two  n-inch  guns 
covering  the  approach  by  land. 

“Returning  to  the  land  face,  or  northern  front  of  Fort  Fisher,  as  a 
defence  against  infantry,  there  was  a system  of  sub-terra  torpedoes,  ex- 
tending across  the  peninsula  five  or  six  hundred  feet  from  the  land  face, 
and  so  disconnected,  that  the  explosion  of  one  would  not  affect  the 
others  ; inside  the  torpedoes,  about  fifty  feet  from  the  berme  of  the 
work,  extending  from  the  river  bank  to  the  seashore,  was  a heavy  pal- 
isade of  sharpened  logs,  nine  feet  high,  pierced  for  musketry,  and  so 
laid  out  as  to  have  an  enfilading  fire  on  the  centre,  where  there  was  a 
redoubt  guarding  a sally-port,  from  which  two  Napoleons  were  run  out 
as  occasion  required. 

“The  garrison  consisted  of  two  companies  of  the  ioth  North  Carolina, 
under  Major  James  Reilly  ; the  36th  North  Carolina,  Col.  William  Tamb, 
ten  companies  ; 4 companies  of  the  40th  North  Carolina  ; Co.  D of  the 
1st  North  Carolina  Artillery  Battalion  ; Co.  C,  3rd  North  Carolina  Artil- 
lery Battalion  ; Co.  D,  13th  North  Carolina  Artillery  Battalion,  and  the 
Naval  Detachment,  under  Captain  Van  Benthuysen.” 


37 


Colonel  Lamb  affirms  that  at  no  time  during  the  last  and 
heaviest  action  were  there  in  the  Fort  more  than  1,900 
men,  including  the  sick,  killed  and  wounded. 

The  activity  of  the  blockade-running  steamers  stirred 
the  Federal  Government  to  prepare  a gigantic  force  for  the 
long  deferred  attack.  It  was  known  that  the  Confederate 
steamer,  R.  E.  Lee,  had  made  twenty-one  trips  within  ten 
months  from  the  British  port  of  Nassau,  and  Chicago 
bacon  had  become  familiar  in  our  ranks.  Men  of  world- 
wide fame  visited  the  port  under  assumed  names.  Among 
these  was  Hobart  Pasha,  the  Englishman  who  afterwards 
commanded  the  Turkish  Navy;  Captain  Murray,  who  was 
C.  Murray  Aynsley,  afterwards  Admiral  in  the  British 
Navy,  and  others. 

Rumors  came  thick  and  fast  of  the  great  expedition  in 
preparation,  and  in  the  midst  of  active  movement  the 
troops  were  thunderstruck  at  the  news  that  Gen.  Braxton 
Bragg  had  assumed  command  at  Wilmington,  superseding 
but  not  removing  General  Whiting,  who  remained  second 
in  command. 

The  speaker,  whose  duties  in  the  Engineer  service  called 
him  to  many  points  of  the  city  and  river  defences,  found 
the  feeling  of  melancholy  foreboding  at  this  change  to  be 
universal. 

General  Bragg’s  career  in  the  Mexican  war,  in  the  vigor 
of  early  life,  when  Captain  of  artillery,  was  most  brilliant 
and  honorable.  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause, 
no  matter  what  his  ability  or  efforts,  the  fact  was  known 
that  his  record  throughout  the  war,  from  the  attack  on 
Pickens,  to  the  day  that  he  gave  up  the  army  of  Tennessee 
to  Johnston,  was  one  involving  much  slaughter  and  little 
success.  Colonel  Lamb  says  (in  his  address  at  Wilmington 
in  1893): 

“ This  was  a bitter  disappointment  to  my  command,  who  felt  that  no 
one  was  so  capable  of  defending  the  Cape  Fear  as  the  brilliant  officer 
who  had  given  so  much  of  his  time  and  ability  for  its  defence. 


38 


“ The  patriotic  Whiting  showed  no  feeling  at  being  superseded,  but 
went  to  work,  with  redoubled  energy,  to  prepare  for  the  impending 
attack.  He  visited  Confederate  Point  frequently,  riding  over  the  ground 
with  me,  and  selecting  points  for  batteries  and  covered  ways,  so  as  to 
keep  up  communication,  after  the  arrival  of  the  enemy,  between  the 
fort  and  the  entrenched  camp,  which  I began  at  Sugar  Loaf. 

“He  pointed  out  to  me  where  the  enemy  would  land  on  the  beach, 
beyond  the  range  of  our  guns,  and  on  both  occasions  the  enemy  landed 
at  that  very  place,  without  opposition,  although  Whiting  had  prepared 
ample  shelter  for  troops,  to  seriously  retard,  if  not  prevent  a landing. 

“It  seems  incomprehensible,”  Lamb  continues,  “that  Gen.  Bragg 
should  have  allowed  the  Federal  troops,  on  both  attacks,  to  have  made 
a frolic  of  their  landing  on  the  soil  of  North  Carolina.  Six  thousand 
soldiers  from  Lee’s  army  within  call,  and  not  one  sent  to  meet  the  inva- 
der and  drive  him  from  the  shore.” 

“Half  the  garrison  had  been  sent  to  Georgia,  against  Sherman,  under 
Major  Stevenson.  On  the  day  the  fleet  came  in  sight,  we  had  but  500 
men,  but  next  day  we  were  reinforced  by  two  companies  under  Major 
Reilly,  a company  of  the  13th  N.  C.  Battalion,  and  the  7th  Battalion 
Junior  Reserves,  boys  between  16  and  18,  in  number  140 — making  a total 
in  the  fort  of  900  men  and  boys. 

“The  brave  young  boys,  torn  from  their  firesides  by  the  cruel  neces- 
sities of  the  struggle,  were  as  bright  and  manly  as  if  anticipating  a 
parade. 

“What  nobler  women  can  be  found  in  all  history,  than  the  matrons 
of  the  Old  North  State,  who,  with  their  prayers  and  tears,  sent  forth 
their  darlings  in  a cause  they  believed  to  be  right,  and  in  defence  of  their 
homes?  Self-sacrificing  courage  seems  indigenous  to  North  Carolina. 
No  breast  is  too  tender  for  this  heroic  virtue.  The  first  life-blood  that 
stained  the  sands  of  Confederate  Point,  was  from  one  of  these  youthful 
patriots. 

“Saturday  (Christmas  eve),”  Col.  Lamb  says,  “ was  almost  an  Indian 
summer  day,  and  the  deep  blue  sea  was  as  calm  as  a lake.  With  the 
rising  sun  out  of  the  ocean,  there  came  upon  the  horizon,  one  after 
another,  the  vessels  of  the  fleet,  numbering  more  than  fifty  men-of-war; 
the  grand  frigates  led  the  van,  followed  by  the  ironclads.  At  9 o’clock 
the  men  were  beat  to  quarters,  and  silently  stood  by  their  guns.  * * 
The  Minnesota,  Colorado  and  Wabash  came  grandly  on,  floating  for- 
tresses, each  mounting  more  guns  than  all  the  batteries  on  land,  and 
the  first  two  combined  carrying  more  shot  and  shell  than  all  the  maga- 
zines in  the  fort  contained. 

“ From  the  left  salient  to  the  mound,  Fort  Fisher  had  forty-four  guns, 
and  not  over  3,000  shot  and  shell,  exclusive  of  grape  and  shrapnel.  The 
Armstrong  gun  had  only  one  dozen  rounds  of  fixed  ammunition,  and 
no  other  projectiles  could  be  used  in  its  delicate  groves.  The  order  was 


39 


given  to  fire  no  shot  until  the  Columbiad  at  headquarters  fired,  and  that 
each  gun  that  bore  on  a vessel  should  be  fired  every  thirty  minutes,  and 
not  oftener,  except  by  special  order,  unless  an  attempt  was  made  to  cross 
the  bar,  when  every  gun  bearing  on  it,  should  be  fired  as  rapidly  as  accu- 
racy would  permit.” 

For  five  hours  this  tremendous  hail  of  shot  and  shell  was 
poured  upon  the  works,  before  they  hauled  off  for  the 
night. 

General  Whiting  had  been  assigned  to  no  duty  by  Gen- 
eral Bragg,  although  it  was  his  right  to  have  commanded 
the  supporting  troops.  He  determined  to  go  to  the  Fort 
and  share  its  fate.  Meeting  its  commander,  who  offered 
to  relinquish  the  control,  the  General  declined  to  take  away 
the  glory  of  the  defence  from  the  brave  Lamb,  but  declared 
he  would  counsel  him,  and  fight  as  a volunteer. 

The  second  day  by  io  o’clock  the  fleet  was  in  line  again, 
some  five  miles  long,  and  from  half  a mile  to  a mile  and 
a half  distant,  pouring  a rain  of  shot  and  shell.  Landing 
his  troops  out  of  range,  as  evening  approached,  a column 
of  attack  was  formed.  The  fire  of  the  fleet  reached  over 
one  hundred  immense  projectiles  per  minute.  The  garri- 
son was  rallied  to  the  line  of  the  palisades,  and  the  guns 
of  the  land  defences  being  nearly  intact,  if  that  storming 
column  had  reached  the  Fort,  hardly  a man  would  have 
been  left  alive  to  tell  the  tale.  But  they  faltered  and 
broke,  and  the  advanced  line  threw  themselves  on  the 
sand  to  creep  out  of  fire.  They  re-embarked,  and  the  first 
battle  of  Fisher  was  over,  amid  the  rejoicing  of  the  Con- 
federates. Strange  to  say,  no  effort  had  been  made  by 
Bragg’s  troops;  he  had  not  even  ordered  an  attack  upon 
700  shivering  wretches  left  behind  by  their  comrades  on 
the  night  of  the  26th,  whose  condition  made  them  an  easy 
prey. 

Ten  thousand  shots  had  been  fired,  and  the  damage  to 
the  Fort  was  comparatively  little,  and  the  battle  had  been 
won  by  its  garrison  alone. 


40 


The  great  armada  steamed  northward  to  refit  and  take 
in  fresh  ammunition  and  more  troops.  General  Whiting 
asked  for  the  necessary  fixed  ammunition  for  the  guns  as 
1,272  shots  out  of  3,000,  had  left  a dangerously  small  sup- 
ply, and  for  hand  grenades  to  be  used  on  the  ramparts, 
and  for  torpedoes  to  be  placed  in  the  anchorage  whither  the 
fleet  was  certain  to  return.  None  could  be  obtained.  Part 
of  his  veteran  artillerists  were  actually  withdrawn,  and 
new  troops  sent  in  without  experience. 

His  personal  unselfishness  was  so  great,  his  skill  so  emi- 
nent, his  bravery  so  cool  and  calm,  his  kindness  to  all  so 
unvaried,  that  his  troops  loved  him — in  the  words  of  Major 
Sloan,  his  Chief  of  Ordnance,  they  “almost  worshipped 
him!” 

In  the  midst  of  the  whirling  shells,  he  scarcely  removed 
his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  as  he  stood  upon  the  open  rampart 
spattered  from  the  bursting  shells.  Lieutenant  Hunter, 
of  the  Thirty-sixth,  writes  to  the  speaker: 


“ I saw  him  stand  with  folded  arms,  smiling  upon  a 400-hundred  pound 
shell,  as  it  stood  smoking  and  spinning  like  a billiard  ball  on  the  sand, 
not  twenty  feet  away,  until  it  burst,  and  then  move  quietly  away.  I saw 
him  fifty  times  a day — I saw  him  fight,  and  saw  him  pray  ; and  he  was 
all  that  a General  should  be  in  battle.  He  was  the  best  equipped  man 
in  the  Confederate  States  to  defend  the  port  of  Wilmington,  and  his 
relief  by  Bragg  brought  gloom  over  the  entire  command.'’ 


Time  fails  me  to  relate  the  details  of  the  great  battle  of 
the  13th,  14th  and  15th  of  January.  The  fleet  arrived  the 
night  of  the  12th,  and  early  next  day  began  the  rain  of 
projectiles,  increasing  in  fury  at  times  to  160  per  minute, 
and  directed  by  converging  fire  to  the  destruction  of  the 
guns  on  the  land  force  of  Fisher,  and  the  pounding  of 
the  northeast  salient  to  a shapeless  ruin. 

Again  General  Whiting  came  to  the  Fort,  on  the  first 
day’s  bombardment,  and  upon  his  entrance  he  said  to 
Lamb: 


41 


“I  have  come  to  share  your  fate,  my  boy.  You  are  to  be  sacrificed. 
The  last  thing  I heard  Gen.  Bragg  say,  was  to  point  out  a line  to  fall 
back  upon,  when  Fisher  fell.” 

The  firing  never  ceased — all  day  and  all  night  long  the 
n-inch  and  15-inch  fiery  globes  rolled  along  the  parapet; 
the  palisades  were  cut  to  pieces,  the  wires  to  the  mines 
were  ploughed  up  in  the  deep  sands.  An  English  officer 
who  had  been  present  at  Sebastopol,  declared  it  was  but 
child  play  to  this  terrific  shaking  of  earth  and  sea,  by  a 
fleet  whose  broadside  could  throw  44,000  pounds  of  iron 
at  a single  discharge. 

The  men  fought  on — their  quarters  having  been  burned, 
with  blankets  and  clothing — in  the  depth  of  winter,  with- 
out a blanket  for  rest,  for  three  days,  with  cornmeal  coffee 
and  uncooked  rations — for  not  even  a burial  party  could 
put  its  head  out  of  bombproof  without  casualties.  On  the 
evening  of  the  13th,  some  8,500  troops  landed  four  miles 
north,  in  the  language  of  their  commander,  as  if  at  some 
exciting  sport,  with  no  one  to  molest  them.  Throwing  up 
entrenchments  on  either  side,  they  began  an  approach  upon 
the  Fort,  which  no  longer  possessed  an  armament  of  great 
guns  on  that  face. 

Telegram  after  telegram  besought  General  Bragg  to 
attack;  but  his  troops  had  been  ordered  sixteen  miles  away 
for  an  idle  review,  and  when  they  were  in  position  again, 
he  refused  to  attack  the  two  brigades  of  negro  troops  which 
held  the  land  side,  though  urged  repeatedly  by  telegraph, 
which  was  out  of  the  enemy’s  control! 

The  fire  suddenly  increased  to  inconceivable  fury  about 
3 P.  m.  of  the  15th,  and  the  air  was  hot  with  bursting 
shells.  All  at  once  there  was  ominous  silence,  and  the 
column  of  the  enemy,  of  t,6oo  picked  sailors  and  400 
marines,  under  the  flower  of  the  officers  of  the  Navy,  were 
seen  approaching  the  northeast  redan.  Whiting  and  Lamb 
rallied  their  gallant  band  upon  the  exposed  ramparts — the 


42 


struggle  was  terrible,  but  with  twenty-one  officers  killed 
and  wounded,  that  column  was  broken  to  pieces,  and  a 
sight  never  seen  in  the  world  before,  of  two  thousand 
United  States  Naval  troops  in  full  flight!  leaving  four 
hundred  on  the  sands,  and  their  commander,  Breese,  simi- 
lating  death  among  them,  to  escape  capture. 

But  alas,  two  battles  were  going  on  at  the  same  time! 
Half  a mile  distant,  at  the  left  of  the  land  face,  Ames’ 
division  had  assaulted,  through  the  gaps  in  the  palisades. 
Although,  by  the  Federal  accounts,  three  of  every  five 
who  reached  the  works  were  shot  down,  Major  Reilley’s 
men  were  so  outnumbered  that  two  traverses  with  their 
gunchambers  were  taken. 

Just  as  the  Naval  attack  was  beaten  back,  Gen.  Whiting 
saw  the  Federal  flags  planted  on  those  traverses.  Calling 
on  the  troops  to  follow  him,  they  fought  hand-to-hand  with 
clubbed  muskets,  and  one  traverse  was  retaken.  Just  as 
he  was  climbing  the  other,  and  had  his  hand  upon  the 
Federal  flag  to  tear  it  down,  General  Whiting  fell,  receiv- 
ing two  wounds — one  very  severe  through  the  thigh. 

Meantime  Curtis’  troops— the  brigades  of  Bell,  Penny- 
packer  and  others — were  sent  forward  at  intervals  of  fifteen 
minutes,  swarming  into  the  entrance  gained,  and  their 
engineers  following  upon  their  steps,  threw  up  quickly  such 
works  as  made  it  impossible  for  the  thinned  ranks  of  the 
beseigers  to  drive  them  out. 

Colonel  Lamb  fell  with  a desperate  wound  through  the 
hip,  a half  hour  after  the  General;  yet  the  troops  fought 
on  hour  after  hour,  at  each  successive  traverse.  It  was 
the  struggle  of  North  Carolina  patriots.  Lamb,  in  the 
hospital,  found  voice  enough,  though  faint  unto  death,  to 
say,  “ I will  not  surrender!”  and  Whiting,  lying  among 
the  Surgeons  near  by,  responded,  “Lamb,  if  you  die,  I 
will  assume  command,  and  I will  never  surrender!” 

But  the  ammunition  had  given  out — the  Staff  and  the 


43 


brave  Chaplain,  McKinnon,  had  emptied  the  cartridge- 
boxes  of  the  dead,  under  fire,  and  brought  in  blankets  such 
scanty  supply  of  cartridges  as  could  be  found.  The  wintry 
night  set  in,  and  four  hours  thereafter  those  glorious  sons 
of  Carolina  fought,  until  a little  after  9 p.  m. 

The  garrison  retired  to  Battery  Buchanan,  taking  their 
wounded  officers;  and  its  two  heavy  guns,  uninjured,  might 
have  kept  the  land  force  at  bay  until  they  could  have  em- 
barked in  boats,  but  Lieutenant  Chapman  of  the  Navy  had 
spiked  his  guns  and  taken  himself  away,  with  all  the  boats, 
(by  whose  order  is  not  known);  and  thus  the  garrison  was 
left  to  its  fate. 

It  has  been  declared  to  be  the  glory  of  the  army  of  Lee, 
that  it  placed  hors  du  combat  as  many  men  of  Grant’s 
army  in  the  campaign  of  the  Wilderness  as  equalled  its 
own  numbers. 

What,  then,  shall  we  say  of  the  heroic  band  at  Fisher? 
Colonel  Lamb  says,  with  burning  eloquence: 

“I  had  half  a mile  of  land-face,  and  one  mile  of  sea-face  to  defend 
with  1,900  men.  I knew  every  company  present  and  its  strength.  This 
number  included  the  killed,  wounded  and  sick.  If  the  Federal  reports 
claim  that  our  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners  showed  more,  it  is  because 
they  credited  my  force  with  those  captured  outside  the  works,  who  were 
never  under  my  command. 

“To  capture  Fort  Fisher,  the  enemy  lost,  by  their  own  statement, 
1,445  hilled,  wounded  and  missing.  Nineteen  hundred  Confederates, 
with  44  guns,  contending  against  10,000  men  on  shore  (8,500  of  the 
army,  and  2,000  of  the  navy),  and  600  heavy  guns  afloat,  killing  and 
wounding  almost  as  many  of  the  enemy  as  there  were  soldiers  in  the 
fort,  and  not  surrendering  until  the  last  shot  was  expended. 

“ When  I recall  this  magnificent  struggle,  unsurpassed  in  ancient  or 
modern  warfare,  and  remember  the  devoted  patriotism  and  heroic  cour- 
age of  my  garrison,  I feel  proud  to  know  that  I have  North  Carolina 
blood  coursing  through  my  veins,  and  I confidently  believe  that  the 
time  will  come  with  the  Old  North  State,  when  her  people  will  regard 
her  defence  of  Fort  Fisher,  as  the  grandest  event  in  her  historic  past.” 

Let  us  declare  to-day  that  the  hour  has  come  when  no 
base  slander  shall  longer  deface  the  fair  fame  of  the  Caro- 
linians at  Fisher. 


44 


Adjutant  General  Towle,  of  Terry’s  (U.  S.)  army,  in 
narrating  these  events,  says: 

“Through  the  whole  evening,  until  long  after  darkness  closed  in, 
they  had  offered  the  most  stubborn  defence.  Never  did  soldiers  display 
more  desperate  bravery  and  brilliant  valor.  With  their  leaders,  Whit- 
ing and  Lamb,  both  disabled  with  wounds,  and  sadly  reduced  in  num- 
ber, well  foreseeing,  too,  the  fresh  force  to  be  brought  against  them — 
under  these  circumstances,  when  night  fell  upon  them,  with  no  hope  of 
relief,  they  gradually  abandoned  the  fort,  and  retreated  about  a mile  to 
the  extreme  point  of  the  peninsula.  No  boats  had  been  collected  for 
the  emergency.  The  strong  tidal  currents  of  the  Cape  Fear  made  swim- 
ming impossible.  In  this  cul  de  sac , they  awaited  the  captivity  closing 
upon  them.  It  was  io  o’clock  at  night  when  Abbott’s  Brigade  completed 
the  occupation.” 

President  Davis,  in  his  “Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confeder- 
ate Government,”  says  of  this  event: 

“ The  garrison  stood  bravely  to  their  guns,  and,  when  the  assault  was 
made,  fought  with  such  determined  courage  as  to  repulse  the  first  col- 
umn, and  obstinately  contended  with  another,  approaching  from  the 
land  side,  continuing  the  fight  long  after  they  had  got  into  the  fort. 

“ Finally,  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  and  after  the  fort  and  its  arma- 
ment had  been  mainly  destroyed,  I believe,  by  a bombardment  greater 
than  ever  before  concentrated  upon  a fort,  the  remnant  of  the  garrison 
surrendered.  The  heroic  and  highly  gifted  Gen.  Whiting  was  mortally, 
and  the  gallant  commander  of  the  fort,  Col.  Lamb,  seriously  wounded.” 

Two  days  and  a night  the  wounded  suffered  before  they 
were  embarked  upon  the  steamer  which  conveyed  them  to 
their  Northern  prison. 

The  distinguished  head  of  the  Norfolk  Virginian , M. 
Glennan  Esq.,  who  was  one  of  the  brave  boys  in  the  Fort, 
and  known  as  Sergeant  Glennan,  writes  to  the  speaker  as 
follows: 

“ I never  saw  a more  patient  sufferer  than  Gen.  Whiting.  His  wound 
was  most  painful,  yet  he  never  murmured,  never  complained,  and  was 
always  cheerful.  His  wants  were  attended  to  by  his  Chief /of  Staff, 
Major  Hill,  and  one  of  his  Aides,  a Lieutenant,  whose  name  I cannot 
recall.  I attended  to  the  wants  of  Col.  Lamb,  and  as  an  illustration  of 
General  Whiting’s  consideration,  and  his  gentleness  of  disposition,  I 


45 


remember  that,  seeing  that  I was  greatly  fatigued  from  want  of  rest, 
he  directed  the  Lieutenant  to  ‘ Relieve  that  boy,  and  let  him  have  some 
rest,’  which  was  done,  and  I enjoyed  a long,  sweet  slumber,  which 
greatly  refreshed  me. 

“While  in  prison,  he  was  in  separate  quarters  from  other  prisoners, 
and  desired  to  know  how  they  were  getting  on.  He  got  permission  for 
me  to  visit  him,  after  a little  incident  that  had  occurred  between  the 
Commanding  Officer  at  Governor’s  Island  and  myself.  He  was  much 
pleased  with  it,  and  brevetted  me  a Lieutenant.  At  that  time  there  was 
every  indication  that  he  would  recover.  His  death  was  a great  surprise 
— a shock. 

“He  was  the  soul  of  honor;  none  braver,  none  more  gentle.  North 
Carolina  may  well  feel  proud  of  her  adopted  son.” 

In  the  trying  hours,  previous  to  the  last  battle,  in  the 
extremity  of  his  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  the  Fort,  and  with 
it  that  of  Lee’s  army,  and  the  cause,  he  telegraphed  the 
Secretary  of  War,  and  received  the  following  dispatch, 
which  places  the  responsibility  of  failure  where  it  belongs: 

“January  13,  1865,  Richmond,  Va. 

“ Gen.  W.  H.  C.  Whiting. 

“ Your  superior  in  rank,  Gen.  Bragg,  is  charged  with  the  command 
and  defence  of  Wilmington.  J.  A.  Seddon, 

‘ ‘ Secretary  of  War.  ’ ’ 

The  following  is  the  official  report  of  Major  General 
Whiting  of  the  operations  of  January  15th: 

“Fort  Fisher,  January  18,  1865. 

“Gen.  r.  e.  Lee, 

“ Commanding  Armies  Confederate  States. 

“ General  : I am  sorry  to  have  to  inform  you,  as  a prisoner  of  war, 
of  the  taking  of  Fort  Fisher,  on  the  night  of  the  15th  instant,  after  an 
assault  of  unprecedented  fury,  both  by  sea  and  land,  lasting  from  Fri- 
day morning  until  Sunday  night. 

“ On  Thursday  night,  the  enemy’s  fleet  was  reported  off  the  fort.  On 
Friday  morning,  the  fleet  opened  very  heavily.  On  Friday  and  Satur- 
day, during  the  furious  bombardment  on  the  fort,  the  enemy  was  allowed 
to  land,  without  molestation,  and  to  throw  up  a light  line  of  field-works, 
from  Battery  Ramseur  to  the  river,  thus  securing  his  position  from 
molestation,  and  making  the  fate  of  Fort  Fisher,  under  the  circum- 
stances, but  a question  of  time. 

On  Sunday,  the  fire  on  the  fort  reached  a pitch  of  fury  to  which  no 


46 


language  can  do  justice.  It  was  concentrated  on  the  land  face  and 
front.  In  a short  time  nearly  every  gun  was  dismounted  or  disabled, 
and  the  garrison  suffered  severely  by  the  fire.  At  3 o’clock  the  enemy’s 
land  force,  which  had  been  gradually  and  slowly  advancing,  formed  into 
two  columns  for  assault. 

“ The  garrison,  during  the  fierce  bombardment,  was  not  able  to  stand 
to  the  parapets,  and  many  of  the  reinforcements  were  obliged  to  be  kept 
at  a great  distance  from  the  fort. 

“As  the  enemy  slackened  his  fire  to  allow  the  assault  to  take  place, 
the  men  hastily  manned  the  ramparts  and  gallantly  repulsed  the  right 
column  of  assault.  A portion  of  the  troops,  on  the  left,  had  also  re- 
pelled the  first  rush  to  the  left  of  the  work.  The  greater  portion  of  the 
garrison,  being,  however,  engaged  on  the  right,  and  not  being  able  to 
man  the  entire  work,  the  enemy  succeeded  in  making  a lodgment  on 
the  left  flank,  planting  two  of  his  regimental  flags  in  the  traverses. 
From  this  point,  we  could  not  dislodge  him,  though  we  forced  him  to 
take  down  his  flag,  from  the  fire  from  our  most  distant  guns,  our  own 
traverses  protecting  him  from  such  fire.  From  this  time  it  was  a succes- 
sion of  fighting,  from  traverse  to  traverse,  and  from  line  to  line,  until  9 
o’clock  at  night,  when  we  were  overpowered,  and  all  resistance  ceased. 

The  fall,  both  of  the  General  and  the  Colonel  commanding  the  fort, 
one  about  4,  and  the  other  about  4 130  p.  m.,  had  a perceptible  effect  upon 
the  men,  and  do  doubt  hastened  greatly  the  result;  but  we  were  over- 
powered, and  no  skill  or  gallantry  could  have  saved  the  place  after  he 
effected  a lodgement,  except  attack  in  the  rear. 

“The  enemy’s  loss  was  very  heavy,  and  so,  also,  was  our  own.  Of  the 
latter,  as  a prisoner,  I have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

“At  9 P.  M.,  the  gallant  Major  Reilly,  who  had  fought  the  fort,  after 
the  fall  of  his  superiors,  reported  the  enemy  in  possession  of  the  sally- 
port. The  brave  Captain  Van  Benthuysen,  of  marines,  though  himself 
badly  wounded,  with  a squad  of  his  men,  picked  up  the  General  and 
Colonel,  and  endeavored  to  make  way  to  Battery  Buchanan,  followed  by 
Reilly,  with  the  remnant  of  the  forces.  On  reaching  there  it  was  found 
to  be  evacuated  ; by  whose  orders  or  what  authority,  I know  not;  no 
boats  were  there.  The  garrison  of  Bbrt  Fisher  had  been  coolly  aban- 
doned to  its  fate. 

“ Thus  fell  Fort  Fisher,  after  three  days’  battle,  unparallelled  in  the 
annals  of  the  war.  Nothing  was  left  but  to  await  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  who  took  11s  about  10  o’clock  p.  M.  The  fleet  surpassed  its  tre- 
mendous efforts  in  the  previous  attack. 

“The  fort  has  fallen  in  precisely  the  manner  indicated  so  often  by 
by  myself,  and  to  which  your  attention  has  been  so  frequently  called, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  ample  force  provided  by  you  to  meet  the 
contingency. 

“The  fleet  never  attempted  to  enter  until  after  the  land  force  had  done 


47 


its  work,  and,  of  course,  unless  the  supporting  force  played  its  part, 
Fort  Fisher  must  have  fallen.  Making  every  allowance  for  the  extra- 
ordinary vigor  and  force  of  the  enemy’s  assault,  and  the  terrific  effect 
of  the  fire  of  the  fleet  upon  the  garrison,  and  the  continual  and  inces- 
sant enfilading  of  the  whole  point  from  Battery  Buchanan  to  the  Fort, 
thereby  preventing,  to  a great  extent,  the  movement  of  my  troops,  I 
think  that  the  result  might  have  been  avoided,  and  Fort  Fisher  still 
held,  if  the  commanding  General  had  done  his  duty. 

“ I charge  him  with  this  loss  ; with  neglect  of  duty,  in  this,  that  he 
either  refused  or  neglected  to  carry  out  any  suggestion  made  to  him,  in 
official  communications  by  me,  for  the  disposition  of  the  troops,  and 
especially  that  he,  failing  to  appreciate  the  lesson  to  be  derived  from 
the  previous  attempt  of  Butler,  instead  of  keeping  his  troops  in  the 
position  to  attack  the  enemy  on  his  appearance,  he  moves  them  twenty 
miles  from  the  point  of  landing,  in  spite  of  repeated  warning. 

“ He  might  have  learned  from  his  failure  to  interrupt  either  the  land- 
ing or  the  embarking  of  Butler,  for  two  days,  with  his  troops,  though 
disgraceful  enough,  would  indicate  to  the  enemy  that  he  would  have 
the  same  security  for  any  future  expedition.  The  previous  failure  was 
due  to  Fort  Fisher  alone,  and  not  to  any  of  the  supporting  troops. 

“I  charge  him,  further,  with  making  no  effort  whatever  to  create  a 
diversion,  in  favor  of  the  beleagured  garrison,  during  the  three  days’ 
battle,  by  attacking  the  enemy  ; though  that  was  to  be  expected,  since 
his  delay  and  false  disposition,  allowed  the  enemy  to  secure  his  rear  by 
works — but  works  of  no  strength.  I desire  that  a full  investigation  be 
had  of  this  matter,  and  these  charges  which  I make  ; they  will  be  fully 
borne  out  by  the  official  records. 

“I  have  only  to  add,  that  the  Commanding  General,  on  learning  of 
the  approach  of  the  enemy,  would  give  me  no  orders  whatever  ; and  per- 
sistently refused,  from  the  beginning,  to  allow  me  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  the  troops  from  Gen.  Tee’s  army.  I consequently  repaired  to 
Fort  Fisher,  as  the  place  where  my  own  sense  of  duty  called  me. 

“ I am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

“ Your  obedient  servant, 

“ W.  H.  C.  Whiting, 

“ Major  General,  {prisoner  of  war).” 

“ Hospital,  Fort  Columbus,  Govtnror’s  Island, 
“New  York  Harbor,  February  19,  1865. 

“ The  above  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  dispatch  dictated  to  Major  Hill, 
in  the  hospital  at  Fort  Fisher  (and  preserved  in  his  note-book)  on  the 
18TH  January,  1865,  and  which  I intended  to  have  endeavored  to  for- 
ward at  that  time  by  flag  of  truce,  and  accordingly  made  a request  of 
Gen.  Terry.  On  his  reply,  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  refer  it  to  Tieut. 
Gen.  Grant,  I concluded  to  postpone  the  report.  I wish  to  add  a few 


48 


remarks  upon  the  difference  between  the  two  attacks,  and  also  give 
some  information  which  I have  acquired.  Had  the  enemy  assaulted 
the  work  on  the  first  attack  he  would  have  been  beaten  off  with  great 
slaughter. 

“The  fire  of  the  fleet  on  that  occasion,  though  very  severe  and  formida- 
ble, was  very  diffuse  and  scattered,  seemingly  more  designed  to  render 
a naval  entrance  secure,  than  a land  attack,  consequently  our  defense 
was  but  slightly  damaged.  We  had  nineteen  guns  bearing  on  the  as- 
sault, and  above  all,  the  palisade  was  almost  as  good  as  new.  Moreover, 
the  fleet,  during  the  first  bombardment,  hauled  off  at  night,  giving  the 
garrison  time  for  rest,  cooking,  and  refreshment.  It  is  remarkable, 
that  during  the  first  bombardment,  no  gun’s  crew  was  ever  driven  from 
its  gun;  but  on  the  13th  and  14th  January,  the  fleet  stationed  itself  with 
the  definite  object  of  destroying  the  land  defence  by  direct  and  enfilade 
fire  ; the  latter,  a feu  d'enfilement  to  knock  down  the  traverses,  destroy- 
ing all  guns  and  pound  the  northeast  salient  into  a practicable  slope  for 
the  assaulting  column. 

“By  12  m.  Sunday,  not  a gun  remained  on  the  land  front.  The  palisade 
was  entirely  swept  away,  and  the  mines  in  advance,  so  deeply  did  the 
enemy’s  shot  plough,  were  isolated  from  the  wires,  and  could  not  be 
used.  Not  a man  could  show  his  head  in  that  infernal  storm,  and  I 
could  only  keep  a lookout  in  the  safest  position  to  inform  me  of  the 
movements  of  the  enemy. 

“ Contrary  to  previous  practice,  the  enemy  kept  up  the  fire  all  night. 
Cooking  was  impracticable.  The  men,  in  great  part,  in  Fisher  at  the 
second  attack,  were  not  those  of  the  first,  and  were  much  more  demor- 
alized. The  casualties  were  greater,  with  but  one  ration  for  three  days. 
Such  was  the  condition  when  the  parapets  were  manned  on  the  enemy’s 
ceasing  firing  for  assault. 

“As  soon  as  a lodgment  was  made  at  Shepherd’s  battery  on  the  left,  the 
engineers  at  once  threw  up  a strong  covering-work  in  rear  of  Fisher, 
and  no  effort  of  ours,  against  overwhelming  numbers  could  dislodge 
them. 

“Then  was  the  time  for  the  supporting  force,  which  was  idly  looking 
on  only  three  miles  off  (which  could  see  the  columns  on  the  beach),  to 
have  made  an  attack  upon  the  rear  of  the  assaulting  columns  ; at  any 
rate,  to  have  tried  to  save  Fort  Fisher,  while  the  garrison  had  hurled  an 
assaulting  column,  crippled,  back,  and  were  engaged,  for  six  hours, 
with  five  thousand  men  vigorously  assaulting  it. 

“Gen.  Bragg  was  held  in  check  by  two  brigades  of  colored  troops, 
along  a line  of  no  impediment  whatever.  Once  at  this  line,  by  the  river 
bank  with  his  three  batteries  of  artillery,  and  his  whole  force  steadily 
advancing,  the  enemy’s  fleetoould  not  have  fired  again,  without  hurting 
their  own  men.  The  enemy  had  not  a single  piece  of  artillery  ; alto- 
gether about  seven  or  eight  thousand  men. 


49 


“Pushing  our  batteries  to  Camp  Wyatt  and  Col.  Lamb’s  headquarters, 
and  opening  heavily  on  Shepherd’s  Battery,  with  an  advance  of  our 
troops,  and  such  of  the  enemy  as  could  not  have  escaped  in  boats,  must 
have  fallen  into  our  hands  ; but  it  was  not  to  be. 

“ I went  into  the  fort  with  the  conviction  that  it  was  to  be  sacrificed, 
for  the  last  I heard  Gen.  Bragg  say,  was  to  point  out  a line  to  fall  back 
on,  if  Fort  Fisher  fell.  In  all  his  career  of  failure  and  defeat,  from  Pen- 
sacola out,  there  has  been  no  such  shame  incurred,  and  no  such  stupen- 
dous disaster. 

“ Wounded,  in  the  hospital,  with  mortification  at  the  shameful  haste, 
I heard  the  blowing  up  of  Fort  Caswell,  before  the  enemy  had  dared  to 
enter  the  harbor. 

“I  demand,  in  justice  to  the  country,  to  the  army,  and  to  myself,  that 
the  course  of  this  officer  be  investigated.  Take  his  notorious  congratu- 
latory order,  No.  i4  (17),  with  its  numerous  errors,  and  compare  his  lan- 
guage with  the  result.  I do  not  know  what  he  was  sent  to  Wilmington 
for.  I had  hoped  that  I was  considered  competent ; I acquiesced  with 
feelings  of  great  mortification.  My  proper  place  was  in  command  of 
the  troops  you  sent  to  support  the  defence  ; then  I should  not  now  be  a 
prisoner,  and  an  effort,  at  least,  would  have  been  made  to  save  the  har- 
bor, on  which  I had  expended  for  two  years,  all  the  labor  and  skill  I 
had.  I should  not  have  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  works,  which 
our  very  foes  admire,  yielding  after  four  days’  attack,  given  up  and 
abandoned  without  even  an  attempt  to  save  them. 

“ I am,  General,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

“ Major  General  W.  H.  C.  Whiting.” 

The  following  letter  is  the  last  expression  of  Gen.  Whiting 
on  the  subject-matter  of  these  reports: 

“ To  the  Editor  of  the  Times  : 

“ The  enclosed  is  a copy  of  a fragmentary  letter  commenced  by  Whit- 
ing to  me,  and  which  he  wrote  lying  on  his  back  in  the  hospital,  the  day 
before  he  died.  He  did  not  have  the  strength  to  finish  or  sign  it.  It 
was  given  to  me  after  my  return  from  Europe,  having  been  found  by 
the  surgeon  and  preserved.  I was  in  England,  having  access  to  the 
London  journals,  and  Whiting  desired  me,  as  a friend,  to  vindicate  his 
reputation.  I do  so  now,  for  if  there  ever  was  a noble  and  gallant  fel- 
low, true  to  his  friends  and  true  to  his  convictions  of  duty,  it  was  W.  H. 
C.  Whiting.  “Very  respectfully, 

“ Louisville , Ky.,  July  6,  1880.  “Blanton  Duncan.” 

“ Hospital,  HEkwar  Island,  March  2,  1865. 

“ Colonel  Blanton  Duncan. 

“ My  Dear  Duncan  : I am  very  glad  to  hear  from  you  on  my  bed  of 

4 


50 


suffering.  I see  the  papers  have  put  you  in  possession  of  something  of 
what  has  been  going  on.  That  I am  here,  and  that  Wilmington  and 
Fisher  are  gone,  is  due  wholly  and  solely  to  the  incompetency,  the  im- 
becility and  the  pusillanimity  of  Braxton  Bragg,  who  was  sent  to  spy 
upon  and  supersede  me  about  two  weeks  before  the  attack.  He  could 
have  taken  every  one  of  the  enemy,  but  he  was  afraid. 

“ After  the  fleet  stopped  its  infernal  stream  of  Are  to  let  the  assault- 
ing column  come  on,  we  fought  them  six  hours,  from  traverse  to  tra- 
verse and  from  parapet  to  parapet,  6,000  of  them.  All  that  time  Bragg 
was  within  two  and  a half  miles,  with  6,000  of  Tee’s  best  troops,  three 
batteries  of  artillery  and  1,500  reserves.  The  enemy  had  no  artillery  at 
all.  Bragg  was  held  in  check  by  two  negro  brigades,  while  the  rest  of 
the  enemy  assaulted,  and  he  didn’t  even  fire  a musket. 

“ I fell  severely  wounded,  two  balls  in  right  leg,  about  4 p.  m.;  Lamb 
a little  later,  dangerously  shot  in  the  hip.  Gallant  old  Reilly  continued 
the  fight  hand  to  hand  until  9 p.  m.,  when  we  were  overpowered. 

“Of  all  Bragg’s  mistakes  and  failures,  from  Pensacola  out,  this  is  the 
climax.  He  would  not  let  me  have  anything  to  do  with  Lee’s  troops. 
The  fight  was  very  desperate  and  bloody.  There  was  no  surrender. 

“The  fire  of  the  fleet  is  beyond  description.  No  language  can  des- 
cribe that  terriffic  bombardment.  One  hundred  and  forty-three  shots  a 
minute  for  twenty-four  hours.  My  traverses  stood  it  nobly,  but  by  the 
direct  fire  they  were  enabled  to  bring  upon  the  land  front,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  knocking  down  my  guns  there. 

“ I was  very  kindly  treated  and  with  great  respect  by  all  of  them. 

“I  see  that  the  fall  of  Fisher  has  attracted  some  discussion  in  the 
public  prints  in  London.  So  clever  a fellow  as  Captain  Cowper  Coles, 
R.  N.,*  ought  not  to  take  Admiral  Porter’s  statement  and  reports  au 
pied  de  lettre , and  he  ought  to  be  disabused  before  building  theories  on 
what  he  accepts  as  facts,  and  which  are  simply  bosh. 

“The  fight  at  Fisher  was  in  no  sense  of  the  word  a test  for  the  moni- 
tor Monadnock  (over  which  Porter  makes  such  sounding  brags),  or  of 
any  other  monitor  or  ironclad.’’ 

It  is  possible  that  under  more  favorable  circumstances, 
the  wounds  of  General  Whiting  might  not  have  proved 
mortal,  but  the  transfer  in  the  depth  of  winter  to  the  bleak 
climate  of  New  York,  the  confinement  in  the  damp  case- 
ment of  Fort  Columbus,  on  Governor’s  Island,  and  the 
natural  depression  that  lowers  the  vitality  of  a prisoner  of 
war  gradually  proved  too  much  for  a constitution  worn  by 
great  fatigue  and  anxiety. 

As  weakness  increased,  and  the  shadow  of  the  inevitable 


51 


approached,  he  met  it  with  the  fortitude  of  his  whole  life — 
with  humility  before  God,  with  perfect  dignity  and  serenity 
towards  men.  The  Post  Chaplain  writes: 

“ I have  seldom  stood  by  a death-bed  where  there  was  so  gratifying  a 
manifestation  of  humble  Christian  faith.  * * * I asked  him  if  he 

would  like  to  see  some  of  the  religious  papers.  He  said  ‘ No,  that  they 
were  so  bitter  in  their  tone,  he  preferred  the  Bible  alone;  that  was  enough 
for  him.’  He  partook  of  the  holy  communion,  at  his  own  request,  in 
private,  on  the  Sunday  afternoon  before  his  death.  * * * That  was 

very  sudden  to  all  here,  but  it  was  a Christian’s  death,  the  death  of  the 
trustful,  hopeful  soul.” 


With  a mother  and  two  sisters  in  Hartford,  and  a brother 
in  New  York,  no  regret  ever  escaped  his  lips  or  sigh  from 
his  heart,  that  he  had  drawn  his  sword  for  the  constitu- 
tional rights  of  the  State  in  which  he  was  born,  the  people 
among  whom  he  had  spent  his  life,  and  for  distant  North 
Carolina,  whose  Governor  had  confided  her  defences  to 
him,  and  for  whose  honor  and  glory  he  was  about  to  lay 
down  his  life,  with  the  innumerable  army  of  martyrs. 

History  tells  us  that  the  British,  struck  with  the  hero- 
ism of  Lawrence,  who  cried,  “Don’t  give  up  the  ship!”  as 
he  was  taken  below  with  a mortal  wound,  gave  to  the 
remains  of  their  enemy  profound  funeral  honors  at  Halifax, 
in  token  of  admiration  and  respect. 

It  is  too  much  to  expect  that  in  the  throes  of  the  great 
War  between  the  States,  the  guns  of  the  fortress  that  had 
been  his  prison  while  alive,  should  have  saluted  his  cold 
ashes  as  they  were  borne  away;  and  yet,  rarely,  if  ever,  in 
all  that  struggle,  was  there  such  a demonstration  of  sym- 
pathetic regard  and  profound  respect  at  the  burial  of  a 
prisoner  of  war. 

The  New  York  Daily  News  of  March  13,  1865,  has  the 
following: 


‘‘One  of  the  most  prominent  matters  in  which  Christian  civilization 
differs  from  that  which  obtained  under  the  rule  of  Paganism,  is  the 
administration  of  the  rights  of  sepulchre  to  the  remains  of  a deceased 
enemy. 


Of 


52 


“ The  superiority  of  the  former  over  the  latter,  was  very  noticeable 
ou  the  occasion  of  the  obsequies  on  Saturday,  at  Trinity  Church,  of  the 
late  Major  General  W.  H.  C.  Whiting,  who  was  wounded  at  the  taking 
of  Fort  Fisher,  being  in  command  of  that  garrison,  transferred  on  his 
arrival  here  to  Governor’s  Island,  as  a prisoner  of  war,  and  who  died  of 
his  wounds,  in  the  Military  Hospital  there,  on  Friday  last. 

“ A very  large  concourse  of  people  was  present,  and  the  profoundest 
respect  was  paid  to  the  deceased,  and  his  sorrowing  relatives  and  friends. 
Gen.  Beale  (the  agent  in  this  city  for  supplying  the  Confederacy  with  sol- 
diers’ blankets  in  exchange  for  cotton),  with  five  other  intimate  friends 
of  the  deceased  General,  most  of  whom  are  paroled  Confederate  offi- 
cers, acted  as  pall-bearers  on  the  occasion.  Several  Federal  officers,  in 
uniform,  were  in  attendance  at  the  obsequies.”  [The  pall-bearers  were 
General  Beall,  of  the  Confederate  service,  and  Gen.  Stone,  Major  Trow- 
bridge, Major  Prime  and  L,ieut.  Mowry,  of  the  United  States  service,  and 
Mr.  S.  L,.  Merchant. — C.  B.  D.]  “The  Rev.  Dr.  Morgan  Dix,  Rector  of 
Trinity,  was  the  officiating  minister,  assisted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ogilvie. 

“ The  corpse  of  the  deceased  was  brought  from  Governor’s  Island 
about  12:30  o’clock  on  Saturday  morning,  and  placed  in  the  vestibule 
of  Trinity,  where,  for  half  an  hour,  the  friends  and  relatives  were 
allowed  to  view  the  features  of  the  late  General. 

“The  body  was  embalmed,  and  on  the  coffin  lid  were  laid  beautiful 
floral  offerings  of  natural  camellias,  in  the  shape  of  a cross  and  a heart. 
The  face  of  the  deceased  was  of  the  handsomest  and  most  manly  char- 
acter. The  coffin  was  rosewood,  silver-mounted,  and  the  breast-plate 
bore  the  following  inscription  : 

“ MAJOR  GENERAL,  W.  H.  C.  WHITING,  C.  S.  A.” 

“ BORN  IN  THE  STATE  OF  MISSISSIPPI.” 

“ Died  on  Governor’s  Island,  New  York  Harbor,” 

“ March  10,  1865.” 

“ Aged  40  years,  11  months  and  18  days.” 

“ After  it  had  been  closed,  lady  friends  of  the  deceased  placed  upon  the 
lid  beautiful  two  crosses  of  white  camellias,  fringed  with  evergreen, 
and  a wreath  of  the  same. 

“ Shortly  after  1 o’clock,  Drs.  Dix  and  Ogilvie  began  the  solemn  ser- 
vice, in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  ritual  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
The  coffin  was  then  placed  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  as  it  was  borne  up 
the  aisle,  an  incident  that  attracted  some  attention,  was  the  placing  upon 
the  coffin,  by  a young  lady,  of  a beautiful  cluster  of  camellias,  bound 
with  a black  ribbon. 

“ After  the  usual  services,  the  prayer  of  the  commitment  was  read  by 
Dr.  Dix,  at  the  foot  of  the  coffin. 

“ After  the  benediction,  the  body  was  borne  to  the  waiting  hearse,  and 
the  solemn  cortege  of  carriages  passed  down  Broadway  en  route  to  Green- 
wood, where  the  remains  were  placed  in  a receiving  vault.” 


53 


The  following  obituary  appeared  in  a North  Carolina 
paper: 

“ ‘ Nihil  quod  erat , non  tetigit ; nihil  quod  tetigit , non  ornavit.'> 

“The  death  of  Major  General  Whiting  deserves  more  than  a passing 
notice.  Born  in  a garrison,  the  son  of  an  eminent  officer  of  the  old 
army,  a graduate,  with  distinguished  honor,  of  the  first  military  school 
on  this  continent,  he  was  peculiarly  qualified,  by  education  and  associa- 
tion, to  render  his  country  marked  service. 

“Constantly  on  active  and  varied  duty,  whilst  an  officer  of  the  United 
States  army,  he  was  enabled,  by  experience,  to  improve  a mind  already 
well  practiced  in  his  profession,  and  cultivate  a taste  for  that  arm,  of 
which,  at  an  early  age,  he  was  regarded  as  a brilliant  ornament.  Upon 
secession,  he  promptly  resigned  his  commission,  and  offering  his  ser- 
vices to  the  Provisional  Government  at  Montgomery,  was  appointed 
Major  of  Engineers  in  the  regular  Confederate  army. 

“Assigned  as  Chief  Engineer  Officer  at  Charleston,  his  engineering 
skill  was  recognized  as  of  essential  benefit  in  the  operations  which 
reduced  Fort  Sumter. 

“Transferred  to  Virginia,  he  was  selected  by  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston  as 
Chief  of  Staff,  and,  after  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  received  the  mer- 
ited promotion  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General. 

“The  commander  of  a splendid  division  in  the  Armj^  of  Northern 
Virginia,  he  served  in  the  campaigns  of  1861  and  1862  with  conspicuous 
credit.  In  the  seven  days’  battles  around  Richmond,  his  command  did 
gallant  service,  contributing  in  a large  measure  to  our  successes.  The 
ability  evinced  by  General  Whiting  in  the  disposition  on  that  occasion 
and  handling  of  his  troops,  combined  with  his  coolness  and  self-posses- 
sion, elicited  the  highest  praise  ; the  President  himself,  an  eye-witness, 
bearing  cheerful  testimony  to  his  worth  and  valor. 

“ But  it  was  not  in  the  field  only,  that  General  Whiting’s  abilities  and 
talents  were  displayed.  Assigned  to  the  command  of  the  defences  of 
the  Cape  Fear,  he  exhibited,  in  the  works  which  constituted  those  de- 
fences, a genius  and  skill  as  an  engineer  which  won  the  unstinted  praise 
of  every  military  judge — praise  that  was  even  accorded  by  the  enemy. 

“ His  administrative  capacity  was  of  the  highest  order — a perception 
wonderfully  quick;  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  his  command,  thereby 
conversant  with  its  wants ; always  accessible  ; prompt  in  the  dispatch 
of  business  ; firm,  yet  courteous,  in  his  intercourse  ; reconciling,  with 
unusual  facility,  conflicting  interests;  establishing  with  great  success, 
regulations  for  a trade  requiring  commercial,  rather  than  a military 
knowledge  ; harmonizing  the  civil  and  military  authority  in  his  depart- 
ment, he  possessed  the  entire  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he 
was  stationed, 

“Placed  in  a subordinate  position  in  the  department  which  he  had 
so  long  and  ably  commanded,  and  the  successful  defence  of  which  was 


54 


his  hope  and  pride,  he  was  doomed  to  witness  the  great  disaster  of  the 
war,  unable,  by  protest  or  remonstrance,  to  change  the  tactics  which, 
in  his  opinion,  induced  the  fall  of  Wilmington. 

“In  command  of  Fort  Fisher,  sharing  the  privations  and  dangers  of 
its  garrison,  twice  wounded  in  leading  it  against  the  assaults  of  the 
enemy,  captured  with  his  troops,  he  died  a prisoner,  cut  off  from  those 
kindnesses  which  affection  can  only  prompt,  and  love  alone  offer. 

“General  Whiting  possessed  those  rare  personal  qualities  most  to  be 
appreciated,  in  the  intimate  associations  and  familiar  intercourse  of  pri- 
vate life. 

“Unpretending  in  the  observance  of  the  duties  of  the  church,  of 
which  he  was  a strict  communicant ; aiming  to  be  just,  without  fear  and 
without  prejudice  ; sincere  in  his  friendships  ; frank,  generous,  who 
‘felt  a dream  of  meanness  like  a stain  his  character  was  the  embodi- 
ment of  truth  and  honor. 

“ Of  the  noble  sacrifices  made  for  the  cause,  of  the  gallant  dead  who 
have  fallen  in  its  defence,  the  name  of  none  will  be  more  inseparably 
interwoven  with  its  history  than  that  of  William  Henry  Chase  Whiting. 

How  sweet  his  sleep  beneath  the  dewy  sod, 

Who  dies  for  fame,  his  country,  and  his  God.’  ” 

One  who  served  under  him,  describes  him  thus: 

“I  always  thought  him  a very  handsome  man — commandingly  hand- 
some. He  was  not  tall,  but  he  possessed  a striking  carriage.  He  was 
well  put  together,  compact,  well-formed,  sinewy.  His  face  was  strik- 
ingly handsome.  His  head  was  shapely,  and  hair  thick  and  iron-gray. 
He  was  an  ideal  soldier  and  commander.” 

Says  Major  Benjamin  Sloan,  Chief  of  Ordnance,  in  a 
recent  letter  to  Major  Fairly,  of  the  General’s  Staff,  and 
now  Colonel  J.  S.  Fairly,  of  Charleston: 

“I  wish  I could  find  words  to  express  my  admiration  for  the  man,  for 
the  soldier,  whom  the  men  in  the  Department  of  Wilmington  loved, 
trusted,  honored — yea,  worshipped.  His  military  perceptions  were  so 
clear,  his  nerve  so  steady,  and  his  hand  so  vigorous,  that  under  his  di- 
rection we  all  felt  absolutely  secure.  A skilled  engineer,  he  had  left 
nothing  undone  for  the  defence  of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  if  on  the  night 
that  Fisher  fell,  Whiting  could  only  have  been  on  the  outside,  in  com- 
mand, with  the  troops  that  stood  idly  by,  and  saw  Ames  from  the  land 
side  overpower  the  little  garrison,  a very  different  story  would  now  be 
history. 

“Once,  in  Virginia,  I was  sent  by  my  commanding  officer  to  General 
Lee,  bearing  a note  of  complaint  (and  with  good  reason),  that  he  had 


55 


been,  by  Gen.  Lee’s  order,  improperly  subordinated  to  others  ; and  I 
remember  Lee’s  endorsement  upon  the  note,  in  substance  : ‘ What  do 

you  care  about  rank  ? I would  serve  under  a Corporal,  if  necessary.’ 

“General  Whiting  did  the  thing  which  Gen.  Lee  said  he  would  do. 
Without  a murmer,  giving  up  the  command  of  the  defences,  which  he 
had  so  magnificently  planned,  he  went  down  into  Fort  Fisher,  where 
the  presence  of  such  a gallant  commander  as  Colonel  Lamb,  made  it 
unneccessary,  and  gave  up  his  life  in  its  defence. 

“ The  peer  of  any  one  in  intellect,  he  died  as  he  had  lived — the  modest, 
Christian  gentleman,  the  lovely  man,  the  brave,  unflinching  soldier.  I 
think  his  death  was  sublime. 

“The  last  time  that  I ever  saw  Gen.  Whiting,  was  on  the  boat  which 
carried  him  for  the  last  time  to  Fort  Fisher.  I had  followed  him  down 
to  the  landing,  and  had  just  stepped  from  the  gang-plank  to  the  deck, 
when  he  spied  me.  ‘ Where  are  you  going?  ’ he  said.  ‘ With  you,’  was 
my  reply.  ‘You  must  go  back,*  said  he:  ‘You  can  serve  me  better 
here  than  in  Fort  Fisher.’  With  a heavy  heart  I went  ashore,  and  stood 
watching  him  while  I could  see  him.  With  Whiting  penned  up  in 
Fisher,  our  faith  was  badly  shaken. 

“I  believe,  Fairly,  that  there  are  not  many  of  us  left  who  used  to 
assemble  in  headquarters,  on  the  corner  of  the  main  street,  in  Wilming- 
ton. In  spite  of  the  stirring  war  times  then,  my  life  was  full  of  hope, 
and  I recall  many  and  many  a happy  hour  I spent  in  vour  company  in 
the  little  cottage  under  the  shadow  of  the  City  Hall; 

Page  after  page  might  be  multiplied  with  one  and  the 
same  testimony  from  glorious  heroes  who  served  under 
him;  they  all  speak  the  language  of  devotion,  of  venera- 
tion for  his  matchless  power,  and  of  the  strong  manly  love 
in  true  souls  for  the  chivalric  quality  of  self-sacrifice. 

With  an  exquisite  illustration  of  this  grace  so  tender,  I 
bring  this  review  to  a close,  conscious  in  the  light  of  my 
own  remembrance  of  his  princely  soul,  of  how  far  this  por- 
traiture falls  short  of  the  embodiment  of  his  moral  and 
mental  grandeur. 

The  incident  referred  to  is  this.  Sergeant  Glennan 
writes  to  the  speaker: 

“ At  headquarters  there  was  a detail  of  couriers,  consisting  of  youths 
from  16  to  18  years.  They  were  the  bravest  boys  that  I have  ever  seen. 
Their  courage  was  magnificent ; they  were  on  the  go  all  the  time,  car- 
rying orders  and  messages  to  every  part  of  the  fort. 


50 


“ Among  them  was  a boy  named  Murphy,  a delicate  stripling.  He 
was,  I think,  from  Duplin  County,  the  son  of  Mr.  Patrick  Murphy,  I 
think,  and  brother  of  Dr.  Murphy,  of  the  Morganton  Asylum.  The 
former  was  a citizen  of  Wilmington  for  many  years  after  the  war,  and 
a true  son  of  the  ‘Lost  Cause.’  He  and  I were  intimate  friends  and 
companions.  He  had  been  called  upon  a number  of  times  to  carry 
orders,  and  had  just  returned  from  one  of  his  trips,  I think  to  Battery 
Buchanan.  The  bombardment  had  been  terrific,  and  he  seemed  very 
exhausted  and  agitated.  After  reporting,  he  came  to  me,  and  tears  were 
in  his  eyes,  ‘ Sergeant’,  he  said,  ‘ I have  no  fear  personally  ; morally  I 
have,  because  I do  not  think  I am  the  Christian  I ought  to  be.  This  is 
my  only  fear  of  death.’ 

“ And  then  he  was  called,  to  carry  another  order.  He  slightly 
wavered,  and  Gen.  Whiting  saw  the  emotion,  ‘Come  on,  my  boy,’  he 
said,  ‘ don’t  fear  ; I’ll  go  with  you.’  And  he  went  off  with  the  courier, 
and  accompanied  him  to  and  from  the  point  where  he  had  to  deliver  the 
order.  It  was  to  one  of  the  most  dangerous  positions,  and  over  almost 
unprotected  ground.  The  boy  and  the  General  were  companions  on  the 
trip,  and  they  returned  safely.  There  was  no  agitation  after  that  on  the 
part  of  my  companion. 

That  evening  he  shouldered  his  gun,  when  every  man  was  ordered  on 
duty  to  protect  the  fort  from  the  charge  of  Gen.  Terry’s  men.  The  boy 
met  death  soon,  and  his  spirit  was  wafted  onward  to  a Heavenly  home. 

“The  General  received  his  mortal  wound  in  the  same  coutest,  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight. 

“I  tried  to  find  the  remains  of  my  dear  boy  friend,  but  in  vain.  He 
rests  in  a nameless  grave,  but  his  memory  shall  ever  be  treasured.” 

When,  a few  days  hence,  the  patriotic  women  of  this  city 
and  State  shall  see  the  fruition  of  their  hopes  and  labors, 
and  amid  the  thunders  of  cannon,  and  the  acclamations  of 
thousands,  yonder  superb  memorial  to  our  dead  shall  flash 
upon  the  vision  of  the  multitude,  may  that  proud  figure 
which  surmounts  it  in  manly  dignity,  stand  forever  the 
majestic  symbol  of  duty  performed — of  heroic  courage,  of 
sublime  fortitude.  May  it  tell  forever  the  story  that  when 
the  sun  set  upon  the  cross-barred  flag  at  Appomattox,  it 
could  not  set  upon  the  character  that  makes  North  Carolina 
what  she  is.  May  it  speak  to  every  youth  who  passes 
under  its  shadow  the  words  of  glorious  Whiting: 

“Come,  my  boy,  have  no  fear  in  the  path  of  duty;  I,  the  Spirit  of 
the  Dead,  will  go  with  you  ! ” 


